Phases
by Twilight Warrior 627
Summary: Set a day after 'The Worst Couple' episode, Jade West and the Victorious gang wind up thrown into a conflict that could save or destroy humanity. Along the way, Jade will face challenges of self-discovery.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious. Victorious Belongs to Dan Schneider and Nickelodeon, respectively.

Author's note: This story will have characters being somewhat OOC. But not majorly. Also, only two pairings will be applied to this story. Otherwise, there won't necessarily be a pairing for Jade yet. I was inspired to write this story after reading OneHorseShay's '_iActually Like Mean Girls'_ and his current story, '_Jade Likes Nice Guys'_ as well as PershingGW's 'iAm a Hero'. The point is to make the characters more realistic as well as throw them in something that just isn't normal for them, as the previously mentioned authors have done. And don't worry, I will try to incorporate humor, though I can't guarantee anything.

Sunday, Feb. 12th

West Residence

Jade's Room

Jade's POV

_I stand alone, on top of the skyscraper overlooking the city. The skies are as dark as ever. The city lights shine brightly. I can see everything happening below. They don't know what's coming. Everyone on the surface remains ignorant. I have no pity. Suddenly, lightning flashes across the sky, violently. Bolts strike the surface, attacking the helpless victims. Before I can move, another bolt strikes and everything is white. All I can hear is an annoying beeping in the void... _

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I'm slowly opening my eyes as my alarm clock keeps blaring that annoying sound. I sit up in my bed and look around. The same room as it always has been. It's mostly grey posters of gothic paraphernalia and the like. No satanic crap anywhere in my room. I may be gothic but that's just going too far for me. Walking to my laptop, I log on and immediately go to The Slap . As expected, not much is going on since last night.

Beck and I have officially broken up. I shouldn't be so surprised but knowing that we're no longer still hurts. Strangely, I don't feel as bad as I should, considering what happened. I've already let him know the problems I've had in our relationship. Every time I turn my back, some random girl is flirting with him. Even worse is he never stops them and acts like it's no big deal. And the nerve of him to try and put the blame solely on me!

But it no longer matters. From this point, it's no longer Beck/Jade. It's just Jade. I log off the page and shut down my laptop. I do my morning routine of taking a shower, brushing my teeth, cleaning my face and such before I sift through my closet looking for the outfit of the day. Normally, I would wear nothing but mostly black clothing. Yet for reasons I can't even understand myself, I decide to go with something else. I pull out a red plaid shirt that I bought after the party with the iCarly cast, and a pair of dark blue jeans.

I put my clothes on and walk to the kitchen. My mother, Ruby Lyn West, is standing in front of the stove fixing breakfast.

"Good morning, Jade. Everything alright?" My mother asks me, with a curious expression.

"Yeah mom. Everything's dandy," I reply sarcastically, not really wanting to talk with anyone at the moment.

"Alright Dear," she responds.

I eat breakfast with my mother in an uncomfortable silence. I catch her looking at me every few minutes, possibly trying to 'read my mind'. I finish breakfast and head out about two hours later.

En route

Jade's car

As I'm driving out to a favorite spot of mine, my mind starts going to different places. The first thing is my break-up with Beck. Almost three years together and it comes crumbling down in the course of a week. Or maybe this was just bound to happen and we let it get to this level. My mind now takes me to territory that I despise. Beck stayed at Tori's house with the others. I can't believe him! He knows how I feel about Tori. But I have no right to be furious. We're not together anymore. And at the least, maybe Tori can give Beck what he felt I couldn't. Ugh! I shouldn't be thinking about this now.

I finally make my way to my destination. It's a clearing some ways away from L.A. It's a meadow with lush green grass and trees. There's a river that flows to create a waterfall that's about fifteen feet high. In the meadow, are a hundreds of various flowers that grow. As much as this place goes against my "nature", I like it a lot. It's very calming and I can clear my head out here.

Time starts passing as I'm sitting in the meadow, enjoying the breeze. If I could, I'd have my own house out here, just to get away from it all. I stand up as i notice the sun setting. I start towards the car when my head begins throbbing in pain. My mind is assaulted with the visions of my dream. I see myself on top of a tall building, looking down, when lightning strikes everywhere in the city.

"_What's going on? Why am I here?" I shout to no one in particular. _

_This doesn't make any sense! One second, I'm in the meadow. Now, I'm in the city? Speaking of the city, I look out and I see something horrible. Horrible enough for me. The city looks like it's been hit by a tornado. Skyscrapers are burning. Houses in the suburbs are destroyed. I can hear the sirens of the emergency vehicles making their way to help any injured. How does this happen?_

_I make my way to get to the streets when a dark figure blocks my way._

"_You've got three seconds to get out of my way! One! Two!" They raise their hand to stop me from speaking. _

"_It has begun," they say before they suddenly vanish._

_The lightning begins picking up in force. One of the bolts strikes me, and I'm in the white void as in my dream._

I wake up to find myself laying in something wet. I'm back at the meadow but my clothes are wet. I look around and everything is wet. The sky is darker than it was before I went unconscious. I walk back to my car and open the doors to find my phone. It was only five past seven but I had twenty missed calls and thirty text messages. Some are from my mother while the rest are from my...my friends. That dream really got to me. They were all somewhere in the city and they could've been hurt...or worse. I start the car and drive back to the city.

En route to West Residence

Jade's Car

I'm back in the city limits, about twenty minutes later. And the city is in horrible shape. The entire place looks the way it did in my dream. There were emergency vehicles everywhere. People were scattered either seriously injured or possibly dead. I' hoping that it's the former. I finally make it to my house where there are other cars in the driveway. One I immediately recognize as Beck's. The others I don't believe I've seen.

As I step through the doors, I'm immediately swarmed by my mother and surrounded by my friends. They all look relieved to see me; even Tori and Beck surprisingly.

"Oh Jade! Thank goodness you're alright!" my mother exclaims.

"Yeah Mom. I'm fine. But what are you guys doing here?" I ask the others.

"A lot of us were out in the city when this storm just kicked up out of nowhere," André begins explaining.

"Yeah! But it looks like all of us were worried about you. We all called each other and said to come here. But then lightning was striking everywhere. The next thing I knew, I was waking up and the city was...well, messed up," cat finished explaining. Seeing her this serious must mean that it's really getting to her.

"But the weird thing is...apparently all of us were knocked unconscious when the storm hit. I was with André when it happened. When I was coming to, so was he," Tori continued.

"I tried calling and texting you but I couldn't get a response. So I called everyone else and neither did they," Beck said to me.

"And so we all decided to meet here to wait for you, in case...well, you know," Robbie finished the explanation.

It seems they all cared in the end. I guess I have some reliable friends. But after last night, I still need time.

"Well...thanks. But I'm fine. Really. I just want to relax," I say moving past them.

"Well, it looks like the worst is over. With everything that's happened, they might close down the streets. Would you all like to call your parents and stay the night?" My mother asked.

There was an unanimous agreement between my friends about the offer. So they all decided to stay given the craziness of the day. The guys stayed in one of the guest rooms down the hall from my room. Cat and Tori are sleeping with me in my room using sleeping bags. As we get ready for sleep, I look at the other girls and notice they're both thinking as well.

"Hey Jade?" I hear cat calling my name.

"Yeah?"

"Will you be alright? I mean he's not too far from us, you know?" Cat says innocently.

"Yeah Cat. I'm fine. Nothing to worry about," I respond to her.

"Well, good night Cat. Good night Jade," Tori says to us before they fall asleep.

"Good night Tori," I say back to her.

I can't fall asleep immediately as my mind is still reeling from everything that's happened. First that vision in my head. Then the storm hits me while i'm unconscious. Things just can't get any weirder, I suppose. For now I'll just sleep.

Los Angeles

Monday, Feb. 13th

In the wee hours of the morning, a lone figure stands on top of a skyscraper in the middle of the city. It is the same skyscraper that Jade has seen in her visions. The figure is tall with a muscular build. A second, more slender figure suddenly appears next to the first figure.

"So, what say you Camael? Has the time come?" asks the second figure with a masculine voice.

"Yes, Sachael. The girl has been given the vision. She will discover her own strength every soon, as will her friends. While they will all work together, the girl will be amongst one of the deciding factors in the end," says Camael in a deeper voice.

"Very well then. I shall wait till the time is right," Sachael says as he's leaving.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Victorious. It is owned by dan Schneider and Nickelodeon.

Author's Note: As stated in the previous chapter, most of the characters will be OOC. However, this will not be major. Just adding more depth to the characters, specifically to Jade. Many fans seem to think that Jade is mean just to be mean. However, there is proof on the show that she has more layers to her character that the show indicates. Also, there will be two obvious pairings in the story. However, I will not have Jade and Beck get back together. It's been indicated that for this story, they just can't work anymore. Just have to see for yourself. Also, I've already identified two major characters, Camael and Sachael, who will play a major role later on. Can you guess what that is? On with the story.

Monday, Feb. 13th

West Residence

Jade's Room

Jade's POV

_I'm standing in the same meadow that I drove out to yesterday before this...disaster started. But I'm not alone. All of my friends are here with me. Tori and André are both in the field of flowers chasing each other, laughing to their hearts' content. Robbie and Cat are sitting by the river flowing smoothly over the waterfall and into the lake. And then there's Beck sitting on the cliff's edge by himself, while I'm sitting a distance away from him. Despite what happened on Saturday night, I still care about him. But I wonder if we could ever go back? Or would we just be fighting again like before. _

_No. It's too soon to start thinking about this now. We just broke up, and I can't go crawling back to him when I don't even know what I want for myself right now. I guess that's why nothing stays the same in high school. Everything is too volatile to keep things stable. Before I think any further, I feel a hand on my left shoulder. I look up to see Tori smiling down at me, with concern and caring in her eyes. The same eyes that she shows to those she cares about. She would never hurt anyone on purpose. I should have realized that ages ago. Yet here she stands by me, no matter what._

"_Hey. We're going back home. Are you ready?" she asks sincerely._

"_Yeah. Let's go," I reply._

_As I stand up, the cliff below me gives way, causing me to lose balance. I'm falling away from them. Falling away from my friends. I can see Tori trying to reach for me, but it's too late. Our fingers barely touch before all she grasps is empty air. The others rush to her but there's nothing they can do for me. I feel the water of the lake forcibly surround me and I fall through. All I can see now is darkness. And I feel my life slipping away._

I wake up with a start from the dream I just had. This one wasn't as bad as last night when I was at the meadow. I still don't understand what happened, let alone how. I just know that since last night, normal has ever felt normal. Only the company of my friends seems to have calmed me down. Speaking of which, Tori and Cat weren't anywhere in sight. They must've woken up and left before I did. I can hear someone speaking from downstairs. I check my clock on my nightstand to see that it's 10:24. Why did I wake up so late? Oh well.

I go to my bathroom to wash up before seeing my mom. I chance a look at myself in the mirror to see how bad I could look today. I thought that I might've looked a mess since coming home yesterday. I remember that I didn't wear my make-up. Another barrier I put up so that I don't have to feel like every other girl. It's not that I don't think I'm attractive. But in a place where everyone judges you on appearance, I preferred to appear tougher to most other girls. Some who know me say it's from 'daddy issues'. They're not entirely wrong though. My dad's always about being boring and predictable. Never about creativity or imagination. Still, I've shown him who I am and what I want out of life. If he doesn't like it, then tough.

Taking another look, I realize that my natural looks aren't half bad. In fact, I kind of like this look. Then again, I haven't looked this way since my parents' divorce. But it doesn't matter. I'll just wear something simple. Not too colorful but something that would relatively normal.

I walk out of my room and down the stairs to the kitchen. I immediately take notice of my mother with a worried expression on her face.

"Good morning Jade," I hear from the living room.

I see Tori and the others sitting on the couches, each of them with the same look on their faces as my mother had, except for Beck. He immediately took notice of my clothing. My outfit consisted of a blue-green penny-tee and a pair of blue jeans. Either something horrible happened or my change of normal attire is wearing on them a bit.

"You look nice," Beck says to me.

Ordinarily, I'd take some offense to that statement. In fact, I still do. Though not as much as I normally would. He never really said that I looked nice in the other clothes I normally wore. But he's still trying to be civil, so why can't I, right?

"Thanks," I reply to him.

"Jade, I'm glad you're up. There's something you should here," my mother says to me.

"What? What is it?" I asked afraid of the answer. My mother exhaled deeply then let out her breath.

"Well, for starters, the storm that occurred last night wasn't just in the city. There were storms like that one all around the world," my mother started explaining.

"What! You're kidding. How is that even possible?" I shout, thinking there's no way that could've happened. Storms like last night were practically biblical.

"Well, Jade, no one really knows how. The weather yesterday was predicted to be mostly sunny with no chance of rain whatsoever. And while we were all out...well, you know the rest," Tori answered my question.

I could only guess that my face had a look of shock and fear written across it. It's something that none of them, not even Beck, was used to. Still, with everything I just heard, it's amazing that I haven't freaked out already. But what's really getting to me is that we are all here while there are others who are likely severely injured or worse. Why did I get off so lucky?

"Um...Jade? I know you're not feeling too positive about any other people who were caught in the storm. But I'm sure they're all fine," I lifted my head up hearing Robbie's statement.

I don't know how Robbie knew what I was thinking but his prediction was dead-on about my current thoughts. But how would he know? I never gave any signal to let him know what was on my mind. Still, hearing him say so, actually put me at ease.

"Okay...thanks Robbie," I respond to the Andy Samberg look-alike. He may not like to admit it, but they do look alike. It's actually cool and funny at the same time. Though I doubt I'll ever tell Robbie that.

"Yeah Jade! Robbie's right. I'm sure everything will turn out okay!" Cat responds in her bubbly voice. But something was different about the way she spoke. Normally, she sounds so innocent and slightly irritating. However, her voice was more serious than we all normally hear. And no one else seems put off by this.

"Well, thanks. But in the meantime, what are we going to do? We can't just stay cooped up all day," I say to everyone.

"Actually Jade, the mayor has declared this entire situation as a state of emergency. No one saw this coming. Neither did anyone else in the world. All of the storms just snuck up on us. So, it looks like, until everything and I mean EVERYTHING in the city is repaired, the schools will be shut down. However, most businesses will still be open to accommodate for those who need the food and clothes, which at this point is everyone. So you kids will need to find something to do with all the spare time you now have," my mother finished explaining.

"Wow. Okay. So what are we going to do? Just sit here like a bunch of stumps?" I ask hoping to lighten up the mood. Though it doesn't work too well.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I think I'll head on home to my grandma. She's been by herself all night, and at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if half the house was destroyed. I'll catch you guys later," André stated before heading out the front door. But something was strange about his presence. When he left, the temperature of the room dropped some. How on Earth could that happen? I'm doing way too much thinking. Cat and Robbie stood up to leave as well. They waved goodbye before they were out the door. Beck was a bit hesitant with his exit. And as if André wasn't weird enough, when Beck passed, his presence was...colder. What is going on with everyone?

I shook the thought as Beck waved and took his exit from my house. I lifted my hand but it didn't reach past my shoulder and I waved weakly. Even with all of us together like this, being around Beck didn't settle the uneasiness I feel after our breakup. I turn towards the t.v. in the living room when I notice someone is still here. I look to my left to see that Tori is still here. She looked somewhat nervous but still with a concerned, caring, and genuine expression; it was the same way she looked in my dream.

"You okay, Jade?" she asks me, though a bit lamely, as if she thought it was a stupid question.

"Well...everything around us is going to hell. But all-in-all, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" I say curious why she was the only one of the gang still left, given our history.

"You see...I thought that...well..." She stammers, apparently trying to find the right words.

"Just say it Tori. I'm not going to bite your head off," I tell her truthfully.

"Okay. I've been worried about you since Saturday night," she said to me.

"Tori why would you..." I didn't finish my question since she cut me off.

"Because I know how much Beck meant to you. I may not know how you felt being with him. But I can understand how it feels to lose someone you love, or at least really cared about. You remember that incident with Danny," Tori started saying.

I couldn't believe my ears. The girl that I had been attempting to make miserable was worried about me. Normally, I would think that this was an attempt to take Beck from me. But the feeling in her words tells me otherwise. I was pulled out of my thoughts as she continued talking.

"Jade, when you and Beck broke up on Saturday, and Beck stayed to play poker with the rest of us...and Trina, my heart went out to you. I know you don't consider me your friend, but I still care about you. I wanted more than anything to walk right out my front door and make sure you were okay. I thought that yesterday, you need some space so I just went to André's and I talked to him about it. After we went into the city, he told me that he thought that maybe we could surprise you. I know how much you value him as a friend. But then we got caught in that damn storm! And we were both struck with lightning. When we woke back up and saw the city, the first thing I thought of was checking on you. But Beck thought of it first and called us and Cat and Robbie. So that's how we all got here. And I'm rambling now. Anyway, I'm here for you. And I'm not going to leave you alone to sulk, if you do that," Tori said, wrapping up her explanation. I breathed a gentle sigh before I spoke.

"I never thought I would say this to you. But I'm glad that you are sticking around. I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to be alone after everything that's happened. I know I've given you grief over the last two years. But that doesn't mean I don't care. Ever since day one, I always thought you were talented. But I was also afraid. I was afraid that I would never to able to compete with you. You're talented, pretty, and most of all, you're nice and caring. That's part of why I was so hostile towards you when it came to Beck. He knows I haven't been one to show my feelings. I stopped being that way since my parents broke up. It just seemed like everyone was just destined to let each other down somehow. But then here you are showing that not everyone does. We may not be together anymore but at least he still cares, as well as the rest of you," I explain to Tori.

"Well, Jade, if it helps, I don't have any feelings for Beck at all. He's cool and handsome. But he's just not my guy," Tori replies.

"I know. That's why you're saving that title for André," I retort. Tori shuts her mouth instantly and her cheeks become flushed.

"Come on Tori. It's fairly obvious how feel about him. Especially when he told us he was dating Keeko. I saw the jealous in your eyes. And despite the circumstances, you can still let him know. Just don't let yourselves end up like me and Beck," I finish saying.

"Thanks Jade. If it's cool with you and your mom, can I stay over another night? My mom and dad are still helping victims and Trina is with a friend. I really don't want to be alone right now," she confides in me.

"Sure Tori," I respond sweetly to her, which seems to her scare her since this is genuine and doesn't happen often.

We both speak to my mother and she gives us the okay. We head to my room and watch a few movies on the t.v. on the desk in my room. After watching about four scary movies, I let Tori climb into the bed with me. It's big enough that it can hold two people comfortably. We wind up talking more and it feels nice talking to someone without any apprehension. We even seem to connect like two long-lost sisters. After a while, we both fall asleep, bidding each other good night.

Tuesday, Feb. 14th

Los Angeles

Skyscraper

Camael stood on top of the same building that overlooked the city as he did yesterday. Sachael and another mysterious figure appeared to him.

"Hello Camael. What has this day brought to us?" asked the mysterious figure with a feminine voice.

"Hello Ariel. It seems the girl is starting realize that she, as well as her friends, are changing. It's only a matter of time before they all understand their significance to the world," Camael said to Ariel.

"You do understand that this will take more than sheer understanding. They'll need our help when the time is right," Sachael informed his comrade.

"Yes, you're right. That's why soon, we will give them the push that they all need," Camael said.

The three strangers vanished from the roof of the skyscraper, all three determined to draw out the H.A. gang that had form such a tight-kit group. The first of the young adults they were to find were Robbie Shapiro and Cat Valentine.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious. Nuff said.

Author's Note: In the first chapter, I said that this story would be Jade-centric. It still will be. However, one thing I'm intending to do is to give more insight into the rest of the main characters. So for maybe the next three chapters, I'll have two POVs for two characters in one chapter each. This chapter features the Andy Samberg clone, Robbie Shapiro. I'll also use the dizzy, if not possibly bi-polar, Cat Valentine. I will try to keep in in-character as much as possible. But I will give another side to their personalities. Given that I am writing this chapter from two perspectives, this will be particularly long. Though I hope you will all like the outcome the same. Also, shout-out to BigStuOU for reviewing my story and being able to guess what is already happening. But there is still more to come. Now let's get the show on the road.

Tuesday, Feb. 14th

Shapiro Residence

Robbie's Room

Robbie's POV

I wake up in my bedroom after a decent night' sleep. That is something I didn't expect to have considering the last couple of days. And to think that it all started with those weird storms. I can still remember everything that happened on Sunday.

_I was out in the city with Rex just enjoying. I decided to go out to one of the parks downtown just to relax. I saw various people go by during the time I was there. Some people were tall, others were short. Some people were slender, other people were wider. There were people of all ethnic backgrounds, just like it is all over the world. Yet, they probably don't always feel so lonely. _

"_Why can't that ever be me?" I asked no one in particular, or so I thought._

"_Because you're weird, nerdy, loser Rob! I thought we've been over this man!" Rex says in response to me._

"_JUST SHUT UP REX!" I shout in the middle of the park like a madman._

_This was part of the reason why everyone I ever knew considered me so weird. I carried around this...thing as if it were real. I know that Rex has never been a real person. But no one has ever really bothered to ask why I put up this charade. Of course, I never expect them to ask. Everyone is always dealing with their own problems. And my issues compared to theirs' are likely just stupid. _

"_WHOOOOOA Rob! Since when did you grow a spine?" I heard Rex say in my head._

_Lately, I've grown very tired of having Rex around. I haven't had him around me much ever since Christmas. I had thought back to the reason why I was beginning to leave Rex behind more often. It had started with Christy VicHarris._

Monday, Dec. 5, 2011

Jetbrew Coffee Shop

_Christy and I had just arrived at the coffee shop to sit down and talk about the days when we were little kids. We made our orders and sat down at a table near a window. I didn't know what I could possibly say to her. Like I told Beck earlier that day, I would've taken any chance to tell her off. But then she shows up and she doesn't even look the same. She had grown into beautiful girl. _

"_You alright Shapiro?" I heard her say to me. Strange that her calling me by my last name reminds me a bit of Jade. Except Christy' voice was without any venom, sarcasm, or boredom. _

"_Sorry. I just don't know where to begin. To be honest, I'm not even sure what exactly we're doing here," I respond hoping she understands._

"_Oh. Well, if this doesn't feel right then..."_

"_Oh no! God no, Christy! I didn't mean for it to sound that way. It's just...I've...never been on any kind of date with a girl before," I responded lamely._

_I remember her reaction as if she were right in front of my face today. Her eyes had widened to a point where they could bulge out of their sockets at any time. Her jaw had slacked slightly. I expected her to start laughing at me after hearing this revelation. But instead she started to smile. Not even a fake smile but an honest-to-god smile._

"_Wow. Robbie, how exactly does that happen? I mean from what Beck had told me about you, I would've thought that there might be some girls waiting to snatch you away," she replied with curiosity._

"_Well, apparently Beck left out a lot of things. Well, I guess I should start from the beginning," I replied back._

_I told her everything that happened after the year she bullied. I went from how I had withdrawn into myself somewhat, to a point where social awkwardness was an understatement. I told her about how my parents aren't exactly quick to proudly call me their son because of my behavior, despite my academic success. I even told her how I got into Hollywood Arts in the first place. And then came the very subject that would lead me to grow stronger. _

"_So, let me see if I understand this. This puppet, Rex, is something you treat is a real person around your friends? But they think that you're possibly schizophrenic because you never acknowledge him as just a puppet? And you make Rex say things to others that mocks them in one way or another, let alone always putting you down? And somehow, that thing is more popular than you are with girls? Robbie, why the hell would you put yourself through all of this?" She finished with a loaded question._

"_It's the only way I know to be okay with who I am," I answered with a lack of conviction._

"_How could you possibly be okay with thinking so little of yourself? Look, Robbie, when we were little kids, I did pick on you. But at the time, I thought you were kind of cute. In fact, you reminded me of a kid version of..." she didn't finish since I knew where she was going with that._

"_Andy Samberg?" I ask._

"_Exactly. And in all seriousness, I think it's cool that you look like him. And from what Beck did tell me, you are pretty funny and not a bad songwriter, even if your songs are a bit unusual," she said as genuinely as I thought impossible._

"_The point is, you have qualities that some girls will like for no matter what. And I'm sorry that I was the one who started this whole thing. I should have known better. But you have to be able to let go of everything and deal with others. Otherwise, you can never be happy with who you are. So answer me this: are you happy with who you are now, Robbie?"_

_I thought for a few moments about her question. It wasn't one I could answer right away. I was afraid of the answer that would give her. But I couldn't avoid thinking this kind of thing through. The truth was that I had grown tired of feeling this way for so long. I was always feeling inadequate, not quite good enough, not even brave enough to ever stand up for myself. No one else had ever thought to help me feel any different. That's where I've stood for years. And now here was my former tormentor helping me to understand that I need to move on._

"_No. I haven't been for a long time. You're right that I do need to move on. I just wish that it was easier said than done," I answered._

"_Then you know what you have to do first?" she asked._

"_Yeah. Let go of Rex," I answered._

Tuesday, Feb. 14th

_Thinking back two months ago, I didn't think I would ever get to a point where I could be more confident in everything I had done lately. Slowly but surely, I was letting go of Rex. Yet it was still hard to accomplish for good because on essence, Rex was me. But sooner or later I'd take control. I would've thought more on that except an insane thunderstorm had rolled in. I started running back towards my car for safety. But before I could get even halfway there, lightning struck me and I was unconscious._

_I found my self standing on the roof of the school as the storm ravaged the city. I didn't know how I got there let alone why. I just wanted to get home as fast as I could. But then a figure dressed in a black coat down to the back of their thighs was in front of me. Judging by the way the clothes wrapped around the curves on their body, I could tell it was a woman. I couldn't see all of her face but I could see her striking eyes._

"_Let go and press forward," was all she said before I was struck again by lightning._

_I woke up some distance from the park when I saw that everything was wet and devastated. I gather my composure to keep from freaking out._

"_MAN! You're already freaked out! Just quit being a baby Rob!" Rex, or rather, I shouted to myself._

"_SHUT IT PUPPET!" I shout back._

"_Oh my god!" Rex whimpered._

_I walked the rest of the way back to my car. I took in the sight of everything around me. The city was, for lack of a better assessment, wrecked beyond belief. Some of the taller buildings were on fire. I shuddered to think of what happened to the suburbs. Before I thought any further, my phone rang with a picture of Beck on my screen. I answered and he told me that he just woke up and was worried about Jade and to meet up at her house. I turned the ignition on and headed to Jade's as quickly as possible with directions Beck had given me. _

_I arrived to find Beck, Cat, Tori and André already there. But immediately, I knew something was off about this whole thing. All of us were soaked head-to-toe and looked mildly horrible. They all wore stoic faces but I could feel that they weren't alright on the inside. I walked past André, who for some reason felt warmer than he should, likely heated from all the excitement, so to speak. I moved towards Beck and he was strangely cooler. He must've been keeping calm hoping Jade was alright. None of it made any sense. I was pulled out of my thoughts when Jade came through the front door fifteen minutes later. We all rushed her with hugs after her mother. We all stayed to explain what happened after we woke up. Then we stayed overnight and and I left with Cat the next morning. I went home not really doing much except playing my guitar and just writing some music. But it seemed pointless since the schools were closed down. Chances are Hollywood Arts may have been in just as bad a shape as the city. I figured I'd check it out later._

After last night, I woke up this morning and decided to just go out today. The sky was partly cloudy and the skies were slightly grey. But I couldn't stay in the house all day. I figure that while I'm out here, I would head over to the high school just to see how bad it looks. I walk for twenty minutes until I finally come to the high school and I cannot believe me eye. The high school seemed to be almost entirely destroyed by the storm. It's still hard to believe that this happened all over the world. Taking a chance, I walk into the school. I'm amazed that I could easily walk in, which is making me wonder where security is.

I make my way through passing by our lockers, the classrooms until I reach the Asphalt Café. For some reason, I feel as if I'm not alone here. It's like someone is watching and they know I can tell. I turn around in a full circle before facing the table that my friends and I normally sat at during lunch. Standing before me is the same woman I saw in that vision during the thunderstorm. She removes her hood to reveal a face with a shape between Tori's and Jade's. She has strawberry-blonde hair, a tanned skin tone, and her eyes were an intense shade of amber.

"Um...hi. Can I help you with something Miss?" I ask nervously. Something about this woman put me off at the first sight of her.

"Ah! Rob, you really are hopeless, you know that?" Rex pipes up. The woman smiles sweetly at me before she speaks.

"Don't listen to him. You're far from hopeless. In fact, there's a lot of hope for you. So to answer your question: no. However, there is something I can do to help you, Mr. Robbie Shapiro."

Who in the world is this woman? And how does she know my name? I had no time to think on this further, considering what she did. One second she's twenty feet away from me. Then, she's right in may face, when her small fist connects with my stomach knocking the air out of me, followed by me being knocked into the air about fifteen feet before I hit the ground. The next thing she does defies everything I know. She's floating in the air without any wires or effort.

"What's wrong Shapiro? Are you afraid to fight me? Or are you just that weak and helpless? It figures. Everyone was right about you," she says with even more venom than Jade had in her voice in the past.

She raises her hand and all of the broken glass floats into the air and stops in front of her. With a single gesture towards me, the glass begins rapidly flying at me. Ironic that as I'm possibly about to die, I could only think of that stupid kiddie song I wrote about broken glass. I barely lift my arms thinking stupidly that it should keep me from dying. But I don't close my eyes. I face the possibility of death with more courage than even i thought possible. But nothing happens. I look up a little to see that the shards have all stopped in mid-air and my hands are glowing an emerald-green.

'_What the hell?' _I think to myself.

"Well well. Not bad Robbie. You've finally tapped into your power. But you'll need to learn more if you want to be stronger. And if you can do that, you will be able to protect our other guest," she says sweetly before turning to her right.

"Stay away from Robbie! Or I will have to hurt you!" I hear a familiar voice call out. The tone was different from what I normally hear, but I recognize that voice anywhere. I turn to my left to see my savior, Cat Valentine.

Tuesday, Feb. 14th

Valentine Residence

Two hours earlier

Cat's POV

Today seems just like any other day. That's if you count that there were major thunderstorms all over the world. that could've wiped us all out. But we're all still here and I'm glad for that. Still, I can't help but feel scared about all that's happened so far. Being caught in that storm on Sunday was the scariest moment of my life. I was just out heading home after getting ice cream at the Freezie Queen when it happened. And then I was asleep.

_I was at the Asphalt Café performing a new song with Tori. It felt good to be able to sing and dance because I know that people take me more seriously when I perform. I know that everyone thinks I'm just a ditz with a childlike demeanor. But the truth is that it's all an act I put up to keep from being like Jade. I love her like a sister, but since her parents' divorce, she was never the same. While she is still my best friend, she had grown bitter and angry thinking everyone would leave and let her down. Beck was an exception up till now. _

_The reason for my behavior is because of my own family. My parents have ignored me for most of life, as far back as I can remember. The reason they did was because of my older brother. He was always going off somewhere some dangerous and stupid stunt that was going to leave him crippled or killed. But my parents always chalk up his behavior to acting out. He's a fully grown adult in his twenties and he's acting out! But they never seek any help for him. They just enable him further. That's why I put on this facade (everyone would be shocked if they knew) that I'm just ridiculously innocent and bubbly. It keeps me from going into the darker side of my mind. The side that has a lot of anger at my parents and brother. _

_I always feel happiest when I sing, especially about something positive. It gives me a kind of hope that everything will always be well. As Tori and I finish up our song, a massive storm hangs overhead and lightning flashes in the sky. It reminds me a lot of the Prome, except not as ominous. Everyone is hurrying to their cars when a woman stops me from getting to my date. She's covered in a black coat with her hood over her head. I can see her face slightly which gives me the indication of her gender._

"_He needs you just as you need him," she says before vanishing. The lightning strikes me and I wake up._

I remember finding myself outside soaked to my bones and seeing the city really messed up. Everything looked so horrible. Then I received a call from Tori about Jade and telling me to meet her and André at Jade's house. When I get there, Beck, Tori and André are already there. My thoughts at that point centered on Jade who I figured wasn't doing too well since she and Beck broke up. I silently prayed for her safety. Soon after Robbie came in followed by Jade fifteen minutes later. We were so relieved, only for it to be fleeting as Mrs. West explained the situation. We all stayed that night since we all had a fairly rough day.

The next morning, Mrs. West explained further what happened due tot information from news channels. So with no school, I didn't know what I'd do. After some time, Robbie dropped me home, where I stayed in my room until now. So here I am sitting in my room playing with all of my stuff animals. Then a thought occurs to me. I decide to head out to the school. It may be in bad shape but that doesn't mean I still can't sing there.

About a hour later, after sifting through my closet for some fairly old clothes, I'm closing in on my destination. I'm approaching the Asphalt café, when I see Robbie from around the corner. He looks so cute as he always does. He may not be the physically strongest guy but that doesn't matter. He still held my heart. If only he knew. But I can hear someone else's voice. A woman? Chancing a look I peak from around the wall and she a beautiful woman dressed the same way as the woman in my dream. Is it really her?

My thoughts are interrupted as she punches Robbie twice and he lands on the ground, after falling from the air. Now she's floating in the air saying something to him. And she's making glass float? How can anyone do that? She makes a gesture and the glass flies at Robbie. I'm about to scream when his hands glow green and the glass stops still in the woman starts speaking more when I walk out of my hiding space, ready to do whatever it takes for Robbie.

"Stay away from Robbie! Or I will have to hurt you!" I shout the woman intending to hurt the boy I love.

"And just how exactly do you plan to do that Cat Valentine, hmmm? You're just a small little girl whose brain is stuck in wonderland all because she can't stand up to her own parents. It's no wonder your friends think you're so stupid," she seethes at me.

I could feel the darkest emotions in the human mind overtake: rage, fury, agony, and disgust. But then I remember why I am standing here now in the face of possible death. It's feelings that make me glad to be alive: happiness being with Robbie, relief that he's still alive, and of course my love for him even if he doesn't know.

I don't know what prompts me to do this, but I feel something flowing within me. I hold me hand up pointed at the woman in the sky, my palm outstretched. A golden-white light forms over my hand. I can feel it's intensity and in an instant it's gone from my hand and hits the woman, knocking out of the air. She hits the ground only to jump right back onto her feet.

"Amazing. You both have met my expectations. I wish I could things will get easier from here but I can't lie to either of you. Not about what you both just did and what's to come. But I'll be back to help you both, when the time is right," she says to us before she vanishes. I banish any other thoughts about the strange woman as move to help Robbie.

"Cat! How the hell did you do that?" Robbie asks me.

"I don't know. Maybe you can tell me how you stopped shards of glass in mid-air?" I retort determined to get him to safety.

"I don't know either. I just know I want to go home and rest," he says in a tired voice.

"Okay, I'll get you to your car and then I'm stay with you till you're better," I say with conviction.

"But Cat..."

"No buts Robbie! I'm staying with you and that's final," I say raising my voice. His surprised face is so cute.

He gives me directions to his car. I buckle him in the passenger's seat while I drive back to his house. We get out and make our way to his room. I text Jade telling her that if my parents call asking for me, to tell them I'm staying with her for a few days. She responds saying she's going to sneak into my room to get me some clothes. Thank goodness for small favors.

"Cat, you really don't have to stay if you don't want to. I don't think anything is broken or ruptured at the moment," he says to me.

"It's okay Robbie. I want to be here to take care of you. I won't leave you," I reassure him.

"Now I'm going to fix us something to eat. I'll put on some movies and you just relax," I order him.

"Okay Cat. Whatever you say," he replies while smiling.

About an hour and a half later, his doorbell rings. I answer it to find Jade with my clothes.

"Here you go Cat. Um, why are you at Robbie's anyway?" she asks with confusion written across her face.

"It's a long story Jade. I'll tell you later," I reply closing the door in her face, not really wanting to explain any further. She might tear into me later, but I don't care. Robbie needs me.

I spend the rest of the early evening cooking dinner for Robbie. I give him his plate and we sit in his room watching different movies until we both finish eating. After taking our plates to kitchen for cleaning, I go back to his room to find him in his pajamas. I take my nightwear and go into the bathroom to change. I come back out and sit on his bed where we talk the rest of the night. Despite that woman harming him, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be laying here with him. As I fall asleep, I dream of Robbie and I in a beautiful meadow with flowers with a river calmly flowing into a waterfall that goes into a lake.

Wednesday, Feb. 15th

Los Angeles

Skyscraper.

Ariel had just made her way back to her compatriots, Sachael and Camael to give them the good news.

"Well, you're certainly in a good mood Ariel," Sachael says smirking at the woman who seemed to be glowing from her earlier activity.

"Is there an reason I shouldn't? After all, I may have just brought together two of the most important people in this whole ordeal," she responds enthusiastically.

"And just how exactly could you pull that off my dear?" Camael asks a bit smugly likely knowing how is comrade works.

"Well...as much as I hated to it, I had to entice them by drudging up some bad feelings. They both were able to tap into their powers without much trouble. The girl even managed to blast me," Ariel says to Camael.

"Good work. He may be able to get this first phase done sooner than we expected. And thanks to your efforts, we know have the perfect way to get the rest to two of the other group to tap into their abilities," Sachael says happily to his friends.

"Yes. That will be sufficient for us all. But first thing's first. Sachael, tomorrow, I want you to approach the other boys and draw out their abilities further. I sense that they have already awakened as well but have little control. Theirs will be especially dangerous if they don't learn now," Camael commanded.

"Understood my friend," Sachael replies bowing, then taking his leave.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own the show. You guys know the drill. Blah, blah, snore.

Author's note: At this point, I'm just going to make it clear that every episode after 'The Worst Couple' are not canon to this story. So there's no Hope Quincy (I hated her), no Mona Patterson (she was just mean), and none of the dorks hitting on Tori and Jade on their "date". Everything from this point is non-canon to the show. And I can't stress enough how much most of the characters will be different in this story. Also, shout-out to BigStuOU for researching the names of the three strangers. I still won't reveal who they are or what they want until later on. This chapter will focus on André and Beck. As stated in the last chapter, they've already tapped into their abilities. Also, if anyone is wondering why I keep going by day-after-day, I'm trying to develop everyone in the best way possible so bear with me. But they need to learn control. On with the show, or story.

Wednesday, Feb. 15th

Harris Residence

André's Room

André's POV

It's been almost three days since the craziness that went down on Sunday afternoon. To think that almost four days go, my biggest concern was over my two of my friends' breakup. It still weighs somewhat heavily on my mind when I think about who the people are to me. First, there's Beck Oliver, the guy whose been my best friend for as long as I've known him. He was cool, suave, handsome, and he always got the attention of a lot of girls. He was even a good actor. He had a lot about himself that made me envy him at times. But from what I saw on Saturday when they were fighting, I was starting to wonder if this was really the guy I knew.

We I saw them arguing the way they were, I was worried because I thought Jade would eventually go off on him. She always seemed so mean and scary to all of us. We understood how Beck could be with her. I remember the time she helped me with my song for the Full Moon Jam. I always knew Jade was a talented singer. But hearing her sing when she helped me with my song helped me to see her in a new light. I shouldn't have been so short-sighted when it came to Jade. Especially when I found out her Secret Santa gift to Tori.

I thought she suggested the idea just so she didn't get dragged into Christmas yodeling. But it wasn't until Saturday that I started to rethink everything. When were playing poker, Beck and Jade had shown up knowing we didn't invite them for a reason. After I snapped at the both of them, Beck made a point of saying that him and Jade fighting had driven us away, as their friends. Of course, Jade being Jade, made it a point to tell the truth of how she felt about all of us: she didn't like Tori still, at the time, she tolerated Robbie, and Cat was like her pet. And through that whole rant, she left out my name. I was sure I had gotten on her nerves enough times to where she couldn't felt differently, but I was wrong.

Still, when she counted down to ten and neither she nor Beck went to each, I knew it their relationship was done for. It seemed to all of us like Jade had started the whole breakup because she was just being mean again and Beck couldn't take it. I noticed that as Beck stayed and we sat down to play more poker, Tori had looked at her front door with the saddest face I had ever seen her wear. The next day, Tori called me saying she wanted to hang out and talk.

We met up at Jetbrew for a couple of iced coffees to talk about whatever she wanted to. The silence was filled with more tension than there ever was between the two of us. But she did talk, it led to a point that I started questioning everything about Beck and Jade.

Sunday, Feb. 12th

Jetbrew Coffee Shop

"_André...do you remember the first time that Beck and Jade broke up?" Tori asked me with apprehension in her voice._

"_Yeah I do. I thought for sure it was going to end up worse," I replied in all honesty._

"_Well yeah. But there was something she said two years ago that struck me. And it's part of the reason why they had fought so much that first time," she said._

"_And what was that. Tori?" I asked curious about her answer._

"_Well, Beck was always talking about how gets insanely jealous. But then, Jade had mentioned how he was always letting other girls flirt with him and he never stopped them," she said with a bit of malice._

"_Really? I always thought that Beck was just...I don't know, afraid?" I responded not really believing my own answer._

"_André, really think about some of the moments that some girl who wasn't Jade approached Beck._

_I thought hard for some moments about what she said. Looking back on everything, there were moments that certainly stuck out. Beck did seem a bit friendlier towards Tori after she came to Hollywood Arts. Then there was Alyssa Vaughn, the whole reason their first breakup happened. I remember it was something about her texting Beck more often than him and Jade ever did. Then there was Hayley and Tara at Karaoke Dokie. _

"_Wow. I can't believe I actually thought that little about it,"I told Tori feeling stupid._

"_But that's not the only thing. I remember when I talked to Beck and he said, at the time, he was glad that he and Jade broke up because she didn't do anything nice for him since they dated up to that point," she said heatedly._

"_I'm not sure I follow what you're saying. I mean it is Jade we're talking about," I replied._

"_André! Look I know Jade isn't the easiest to get along with, but she really cared about Beck in the long run. She's even changed since the first breakup. But then nothing changed with Beck. What I'm trying to say is that he deflected the entire reason of them breaking up to her jealousy, which in the end is because he doesn't resolve any uneasiness she has," she said scaring me some._

_The more I thought about what she said, the more she made sense. Unfortunately, it also meant she was right. Jade may not have been the nicest person to mot of us. But given what Tori told us about her dad and what we know of her home-life, I could only assume that she figured if she and Beck were like her parents, they'd end up the same way. Not mention, considering how Tara and Hayley acted around us, and how he responded, I could understand perfectly well why Jade feels the way she does. _

"_You know what. We should go see Jade," I said to Tori, who looked at me surprised._

"_Tori, considering everything that happened, and after you opened my eyes...I should've been the one to say something to Beck myself," I said sadly, knowing how ignorant I was._

"_Hey. It's going to be alright. Besides, I think she'd be happy to see you and to talk to you. Remember, she does consider you a friend," Tori tried to reassure me._

"_Well, I must not be that good a friend considering what..." I said before Tori interrupted me._

"_Don't even think about it André. We're going there, we're going to talk to her, and you'll see that you treat her very well, just like everyone else. Just like me," she whispered the last part, which I thought weird. I started hoping I didn't do anything to hurt Tori. After all, this is the same girl whose not only my best friend, but the girl I'm truly in love with._

_We left Jetbrew and made our way over to Jade's when the storm came out of nowhere and lightning struck us. The next thing I knew, I was standing at an amphitheater somewhere near downtown. I looked out to see everyone I knew and loved in the crowd. There was Jade, Robbie, my grandma, Cat, Beck, Sikowitz. And then there was Tori. I was finishing the song and the audience roared with applause. I saw Tori put her hand to her mouth and blow a kiss to me. Then came a storm with lightning dancing across the sky like crazy. Everyone was clearing out when a someone stopped me. I couldn't tell who they were till they spoke._

"_You must control your inner nature," said the stranger, with a masculine voice._

_They vanished and Lightning struck again. I woke up to see Tori coming around as well. We were both confused yet devastated about what happened while we were unconscious. Before we could think any further, Beck called and told us to meet him at Jade's. We got there and he said that he had called her a number of times but got no answer. So we tried and were met with the same thing. Cat showed up later, then Robbie came, finally Jade showed up and we were all relieved. Mrs. West explained that most of the streets were closed till further notice. We stayed the night and all was cool. The next morning was a different story though. With everything that happened, I was worried about my grandma, hoping she'd be alright. Jade came downstairs with regular clothes and an all natural appearance. It was an interesting change, but then I always thought Jade was beautiful. Although Beck was trying to be civil, him saying Jade looked nice seemed to matter very little to her. Mrs. West told us that the storm hit all over the world and that there was no school till further notice. Everything we knew was just thrown into chaos. _

_In an uncharacteristic move, Jade tried to lift our spirits, which wasn't bad. But there was still a lot on our minds from what happened on Saturday night. I told the gang that I'd go see my grandma to make sure she was okay. I took my leave and headed straight home. When I arrived, the first thing I noticed was that the house was perfectly intact. I thought that there may have been plenty of broken items and such around the house, because of my grandma's paranoia. The second thing was that when she was coming form the kitchen, she seemed strangely normal. Contradictory as that statement is, my grandmother hasn't been normal for at least seven years now. _

"_Oh André! I'm so glad you're home!" she exclaimed._

"_Yeah grandma. I told you I stayed at a friend's last night," I replied._

"_I know. But with the storms all over the world, I was just worried something would happen to my only grandson. André, I know you already made one promise to never be a bad person. But I need you to make another two. Don't ever let yourself grow afraid of anything," she said in a serious manner that I haven't seen in years._

"_And what's the other?"_

"_No matter angry or excited you get, you must control your emotions when you need to, understand?" she asked me._

"_Uh...yeah. I promise," I replied as she walked off doing whatever it was she was doing._

When it all comes down to it, I still feel like a jerk for taking sides in this whole thing with Beck Jade. The girl's been thinking of me as her one true friend. It seemed like something not even Beck could claim to have from Jade. But then I'm here thinking of her like a she-devil and giving her the cold shoulder. When it comes to friendships with couples, it never helps to take one side over the other. It just seems to cause more trouble. But at this point we're all fortunate that there hasn't been more trouble. Though that seems to be hollow since it's only because of the storms. That's it. It's time I did what I should of done in the first place. I grab my phone and text Jade asking if she wants to hang out tomorrow. She immediately replies saying she would love to. The next thing I do is call the guy who needs some serious talking to. The line is still connecting to his phone when I hear his voice.

"_Hey man. What's up?_" he asks.

"Beck, we need to talk."

Wednesday, Feb. 15th

En route to Downtown Amphitheater

Beck's POV

I drive out to the location André told me to meet him at. The way his voice sounded over the phone, you'd think there some crisis going on. Well, some other major crisis I should say. With places all over the world getting hit by the storm, it seems like the whole world has collapsed on itself. Thinking of reminds me of how much my relationship with Jade had collapsed.

For the last four months, a lot of our time together we spent fighting. Not disagreeing on something little but actually fighting. It would go from her hissing at me over some girl talking to me that I didn't pay much attention and then we just spend the rest of the argument sniping at each other over unrelated stuff. She always got so jealous over every other girl. She wasn't anything like Tori. Tori was the kind of girl who would be a perfect girlfriend. But I shouldn't be thinking about Tori now since Jade and I broke days ago. Getting closer to my destination, I start thinking about Sunday afternoon.

Sunday, Feb. 12th

Los Angeles

_I was walking around town just minding my own business. Every now and then some girl would look at me with the I get from every other girl except Tori. And Cat of course, which goes without saying. I passed by the Jetbrew coffee shop where I saw Tori and André talking. I couldn't read their lips but whatever they talked about didn't sit so well with André. At the end, she looked at him with that smile that gave me a good feeling inside. It was the kind to show that she not only cared but truly loved him; the kind of smile that Jade very rarely showed me._ I took off in another direction not wanting them to see me. Somehow I found myself near a location used for filming a movie when the storm picked up. Lightning suddenly flashed and struck me.

_I found myself outside of my RV for some strange reason. I didn't know what was going on or why I was here. I made a move to leave when someone stopped me. It looked like a slender guy with a toned muscular structure. _

"_Who are you and what do you want?" I asked slightly scared since I was alone._

"_Nothing except to share a few words, Beckett Oliver," he replied._

"_How do you know my name?"_

"_Doesn't matter kid. Listen, because I'll only say this once: you're a real coward," he said with irritation lacing his voice._

"_Who the hell do you think you are? You don't even know me!" I shouted out of anger._

"_Oh I know you very well. I also know that you're too scared to admit why you act the way you do when it comes to your ex-girlfriend. You may have thought you could do better. But she deserves a guy much better than you ever were to her. You can either man up or kept hiding behind that facade of yours. It'll come crumbling down sooner or later," he says almost smugly before he vanishes._

_I'm struck by another bolt of lightning when I wake up. The city was in horrible shape and the film crew just cleared off apparently not bother to notice me. I pull out my phone to call Jade. I kept getting her voicemail so I tried again and again. I call Tori and tell her how worried I was and to meet me at her house and call the others. I arrived there and Mrs. West answered the door, not too thrilled to see me though. _

"_Come in Beck," she said as civil as possible._

_I wait for everyone else. André and Tori arrive first, though there was some apprehension on their part of seeing me. Cat shows up not longer after and she looks more serious than I have ever seen her. Then Robbie shows up and we all wait. We all silently waited for Jade hoping she was okay. Every now and then I would catch André giving me a harsh glare. I could even feel the room heat up some, which I couldn't understand. But I shrug the thought away. Jade finally showed up after about half an hour. We were all relieved and we explained what happened. Mrs. West told us that most of the streets were closed so we all stayed at Jade's place. The next morning after Mrs. West filled us in on what happened that afternoon, most of us went our separate ways. _

_I got home and let my parents know that I came back and that I'd be in the RV. FOr the next two days, I didn't do much of anything. With no school and almost every place destroyed, there was really nothing to do. But then I got the call from André on Wednesday saying he wanted to talk and he sounded deadly serious._

I arrive at the amphitheater where I see André waiting for me. He looks up at me with the same glare he gave me on Sunday. Somehow, I could tell we weren't just going to shoot the breeze.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I ask him waiting to hear his response.

"It's about Jade," he says with a mix of concern and irritation.

"Oh. Well, what about her?" I ask him.

"Beck, I've known you both long enough to call you both my best friends. And I would never want to see either of you hurt. But up until now, it seems between the two of you, you're not the one whose really hurt," he says with a tinge of malice in his voice.

"André, where are you going with this?" I ask despite myself.

"I know Jade has never been the easiest person to get along with. Yes, she could've been nicer to people like Tori and Robbie, but in her own way, she still cared about them. And she still cares about you. But with the way you treated her, and thinking about everything I know about her now, she deserves better than what you've given her."

"Excuse me?" I said, noticing how he's saying what the dude in my dream said.

"You heard me. Jade deserved better from you but you didn't give it to her," he says approaching me.

"Hey! I had to put up with her insane jealousy and bitchiness for over to year!" I shout to André.

"And did you ever think to stop about why she acted the way she did? Jade has never been mean just to be mean. She didn't start acting the way she did until Tori started going to school with us," he yells at me.

"So you're saying it's Tori's fault?" I reply coolly.

"No you jerk! I'm saying she's been the acting the way she was because she's scared. Scared that she would lose you. And if Tori hadn't opened my eyes to this, you'd be going on thinking about '_how you were treated so wrong by Jade',_" he replies angrily.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I say more curious than pissed off.

"You know about her parents' divorce. You know how her relationship with her dad is. And you also know you're the first guy who actually acknowledged her as more than just the tough, goth girl of the school. The reason she's acted the way she has, was always out of fear of losing you: the one good thing that's come along for her in so long," I listen to him say. I couldn't believe Tori talked about me to him.

"So she gets scared and that gives her free license to possibly go too far where she lands in jail? I couldn't let that happen. I would've tried talking to her but you know how stubborn she can be. I can't even talk to another girl without getting an earful from her," I respond while throwing my hands in the air.

"And that's exactly why you've both reached this point! I know for a fact that Jade has told you time and again how she hated other girls flirting with you and you never put a stop to them! That's actually why you guys broke up in the first place! You never stopped and actually talked to her about how she felt! And to top it off, you shift the blame to her about her jealousy, which is mainly your fault to begin with, and then shift the blame to her not doing anything nice for her! Well, who the hell are you to talk about how to treat the one you're supposed to love when you pull crap like that?" he seethes at me, only making me madder.

"You don't know anything about my relationship with Jade. And you know what, when it comes down to it, I'd have been better off with someone like Tori!" I make the mistake of admitting to him.

The next thing I know, André's fist connects with my face and I fall to the ground. I look up only to be met with the weirdest I could ever see. André's fist is burning but it's not on fire. It's actually surround his hand without burning him. And it's glowing red and white. Soon his entire body becomes surrounded by the fire. Suddenly, I feel something react inside of me. I can feel the temperature around me drop drastically. I look at my hands to find a glowing mist around them. I look at André and I drop to a fighting stance. André moves first firing a blast at me only for me to put my hands up and a beam shoots out of them and the blasts explode upon impact. I wasn't sure how long we were fighting, but it must've been a good little while. We spent minutes firing and dodging each other around the amphitheater. We come face-to-face to each other when a loud clapping interrupts us. I look to my left, André to his left, to see a figure approaching us. It was the same figure who spoke to me in my dream. He takes his hood off and he looks like he's a few years older than us with slightly pale skin. He has odd onyx-colored hair that is slightly disheveled and comes down to just below his ears. Even stranger are his silver-blue eyes. He's wearing a smug smile on his face.

"Alright you two. I think that's enough of the pissing competition here. However, Beckett, André is right. You've been too much of a coward to really handle your relationship with Jade correctly," he said looking between us.

"How the hell would you know about..." he stops me before I finish speaking.

"I know that she isn't as headstrong as you think she is. You were just so preoccupied about how you had such a..."hot" girl on your arms rather than really thinking of what she needed from you. And that is exactly why you two aren't together," he says with grim satisfaction.

I fire a blast at him and watch as the blast freezes the space of the floor he was standing on. It seems impossible for him to move that fast. I feel something soft land on my arm only to find a feather. I look up and he's floating high above us.

"You should both learn some control while you have time. Believe me, it is running short," he yells to us before disappearing.

André and I look at each other, both of us still heated before we go our separate ways.

Thursday, Feb. 16th

Los Angeles, 12:00 a.m.

Skyscraper

The trio of strangers stand on the roof of the building that has become their base of operations. Sachael is wrapping up his account of what happened with the musician and actor hours earlier.

"I see. It looks like Mr. Harris has gained more control over his abilities than Mr. Oliver has in such a short time," Camael says contemplating everything that happened so far.

"Yes. It seems his love for Ms. Vega and his care for Jade was a major catalyst," Ariel replies smiling at the thought of the young man. After learning of his feelings, she could smile at how one young man can care for two young ladies without it crossing over into anything remotely hedonistic.

"Beckett, however, will need more time to learn and control his ability, I'm afraid," Sachael says, almost scoffing at how hypocritical the young Elvis look-alike was, given what he had seen and heard from the boy.

"That may be, but it's all we can do for now. We still have two more who need insight. Besides, the opposition is preparing to make a move," Camael tells them. If possible, both Ariel and Sachael would have paled from hearing their comrade's words.

"We can't afford to this time anymore. Tomorrow I'll see the girls myself and give them some idea of what's about to happen. You two will look after your charges and in two days, we will bring them together and train them," Camael issues out to the other two.

"Yes!" They both reply as they all leave to watch over their charges.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Blah, blah, blah.

Author's note: Like with many good stories, there's always opposition. Camael has identified that point of the story. So now the strangers are moving on to the last two of the gang. However, this is where things will come to an impasse. Anyway, for anyone who thinks that André is putting the blame for the breakup entirely on Beck, that's not the case. WHat i'm trying to do is establish a point that Beck is not 100% innocent in the breakup as the show makes him seem. Everyone has pointed out at least once that Jade was not the nicest girl on the show. However, that does not mean that she was an all-around bitch. She had her reasons, if one pays close enough attention. Anyway, this chapter will be in Tori's pov. Once again, will try to retain her character.

Thursday, Feb. 16th

West Residence

Jade's room

Tori's POV

I wake up feeling startled after the dream I just had. I saw myself my friends playing in a meadow away from the city. It was the kind of place you see only in a dream or in a painting. THere were flowers everywhere, with a river flowing into a waterfall and a cliff-edge overlooking the lake at the bottom. André and I were chasing each other around while Cat and Robbie sat close together in each other's arms. Meanwhile, Beck and Jade sat on the edges of the cliff far away from each other. I walked over to Jade telling her we were leaving. But then she stands and the cliff crumbles and she fell into the lake. I tried to reach for her but I couldn't make it in time.

Now here I am in Jade's room, in her bed next to her while she still sleeps. The first couple of days after the breakup weren't easy on her. But since I've been sleeping over at her house so much this week, I've somehow managed to comfort her much easier than I did during the first breakup. In our time together, I learned that she and I had much more in common than I initially thought. Or rather, I should say, we did. It turns out, her family used to be just like mine. Except she was an only child. Things were good until she turned thirteen.

According to Jade, the falling out between her parents had started about one of them not being happy about their life after so many years. Later, her father rolled over the subject of Jade pursuing a career in the arts was stupid, ridiculous and childish. When Jade revealed that moment, I could see her eyes water. I did the only thing I could do and wrapped my arms around her and held her for God knows how long. Seeing her like this was worse than when she and Beck broke up. SHe's so different from the Jade I've always known. But then I realize Jade then and Jade now were one in the same.

She's had this wall up since her parents broke up. Maybe that's why she's been so down-and-out? Since that night, I've stayed here with her for the past three days. We talked about life, we played games, and we even enjoyed each other's company. We were almost like sisters to each other. So now, here I am, waking up next to the person who I thought hated me for so long. I always thought that if i woke in someone else's bed, it would at least be André's. Speaking of which, I haven't heard from him for the last three days. I hope I didn't make him feel bad about this whole thing.

I snap out of my thoughts as Jade is waking up from her sleep. I take a look at her and notice that something is different with her. She doesn't look tired at all, or even angry. She looks curious, and more or less at peace. She takes one look at me and smiles at me in a humorous but caring manner.

"Good morning," Jade says to me.

"Good morning," I respond.

"So I guess it's true what they say," she says in the way that lets me know she's teasing.

"What's that?" I ask fairly sure of where she's going with this.

"The ones who hate each other always wind up together," she says glibly. Still, I can't help but smile anyway.

"Ha ha. Very funny Jade. So, what are we going to do today?" I ask her.

"Oh. Um...actually, André sent me a text saying he wanted to hang out today," she replies.

"Oh. Cool. Hope you guys enjoy each other's company,' I respond weakly.

"Tori, if it makes you uncomfortable, then I can cancel..." she begins.

"No Jade. If anything, maybe this can be a good thing for the both of you," I tell her. I remember André's face on Sunday after our discussion about her and Beck. And then there were the glares he sent to Beck every few minutes after the storm. I guess what I told him really sunk in.

"Okay. Well, I'll see you later Tori," Jade says as she's leaving.

I follow her out a few minutes later. My mind keeps replaying everything that happened when the storm hit. The dream I had when and André and I were struck by lightning keeps replaying in my head.

_I'm standing in front of a crowd at the Asphalt Café at Hollywood Arts. It's the Annual Showcase, just like the one that I had to replace Trina in before I got into the school. This time, however, is much different. André isn't playing on an instrument. He's standing next to me waiting for the performance to begin. So are Cat, Robbie, Beck, and Jade. All of my friends are here with me and we're putting on a major performance. The music comes on and one by one we start singing together. Then the music kicks up and we start dancing and singing. After a few minutes, the performance is over and we all join hands for a bow. Then a lightning storm rolls in and everyone is rushing to their cars. The group splits up and André tries to reach me, only to be stopped by a stranger wearing a black cloak. The figure looks like a slightly bulky man and his eyes seem to captivate me. His eyes are a light-grey color and I can feel them as if they're peering into my mind. _

"_Never be afraid to help those who matter to you. After all, she will need you," he says to me before he vanishes. The storm picks up and then I'm struck by lightning._

That was the last thing I remember before I woke and saw the city. After that, we went to Jade's, we stayed the night and were told that we won't be going to school for god knows how long. Since Sunday night, I've stayed with Jade and her mom. They've both been very hospitable to me. And in that time, I can say that Jade and I are now officially friends.

I drive away from her house to mine to get more clothes. My parents told me that they've been working more than usual the whole week. So whenever they could come home, they would sleep a few hours and then leave for more work. This left me ad Trina alone for most of the week. As I enter into the house, a strange feeling hits me. I look at my home to see a message from Trina saying she won't be home still. Walking towards the stairs, I start getting the feeling that someone is watching me. The feeling grows stronger as I turn around. At my front door is the same stranger I saw in my dream. I don't what to do. He looks too strong to fight off and he's pretty fast from what my dreams may have showed me. There's only one thing I could do.

"Who are you and what do you want?" I ask trying to sound intimidated, even though I know I'm probably failing.

"My name is Camael. I don't have much time," He says taking his hood off to reveal a man looking to be in his late twenties with slicked-back hair and brown skin.

"So why are you here? Just so you know, my dad is..." he interrupts me.

"Yes, a police officer, I know. David Vega, one of the best in his precinct. And your mother, Holly, is a fantastic nurse. If not for either of their efforts, more than likely, the city would be in worse shape. And even you seem to hold yourself together in a crisis like this. It's a shame your sister isn't more disciplines like you all," He says.

"How do you know so much about us?" I ask surprised and scared.

"Because it's in my power and my mission to know. As well as to prepare you for what's coming," Camael responds with a more serious tone than my dad gets.

"What is coming exactly?" I ask.

"As I said earlier, we don't have time. I'll explain everything tomorrow. For now, contact Jade and let her know you need to meet up with her," he orders me.

For some reason, even though I don't know him, I feel that I can trust him. He hasn't made a move to harm me in any way. If he was going to, he would've done so already. I send Jade a text message saying I want to meet up with her and go somewhere. She responds saying that it's fine and that André had to duck out on their outting. She sends another message saying she can meet me at the park.

"Okay Camael. So what now?" I ask anticpating what's next.

"Now we wait till the others are gathered.

Los Angeles

Downtown, Park

Jade's POV

I'm at the park, sitting on a bench people-watching, while I wait for Tori to get here. It's been twenty minutes as I think about how weird it was that she texted me as soon as André told me he had to leave. My first thought was that it must've been something serious with the way Tori's message came across. I look to my left to see more people passing by. As I turn to my right, I jump out of fright as Tori and some weird dude are standing to my right. But the guy's clothes seem strangely familiar to me. But then I realize why, it must be the guy I saw in my dream. I get a good look at him and he's sort of bulky, has brown skin, dark slicked-back hair, and he has light grey eyes. He looked to be in his late twenties but he seemed hot.

"Tori, who is this?" I ask her afraid of the answer.

"My name is Camael. And you are Jade West,'' he answers my question.

"How do you..." he cuts me off.

"I've been through this already with Tori. I've known who you and your friends are since you were born. And I know you six will play a major role in the ensuing conflict," he says to us both.

"Okay, first of all, this is just too weird. Second, why does your name sound familiar to me?" I ask out of irritation or curiosity, I'm not sure.

"Restraint, Jade. I'll explain later. For now, however, I need you both to join me so we can meet with the others. Now, grab my hand," he orders us both. Tori and I look around and we find the park clear for some strange reason. We grab his arm, and this weird thing happens that I can't fully describe. All I could say is that there is this weird distortion and we are outside of this tall lavish building. As I get a good look, I notice it's the same building that I stood on the roof of in my dream.

We enter the building and get into the elevator, riding it to the top floor. As we get out, we come to an extraordinary looking room that can house six people. In the common we see our friends sitting down as well as two other people dressed like Camael. Are these guys in some weird cult or something?

"Good. You're all here. First, I'll introduce myself. For the four of you who don't know me, my name is Camael," he said first. A woman standing behind Robbie and Cat on one couch spoke up next. She had tanned skin, strawberry-blonde hair, and amber eyes. This girl could give me, Tori and Cat a run for our money.

"My name is Ariel," she said in a sweet yet formal tone. Lastly, a guy with onyx colored hair, pale skin and silver-blue eyes approaches from behind Beck and André who apparently look pretty distant from each other.

"And last but not least, my name is Sachael. The reason we have called you six here is because something major is happening very soon. Something that will spell disaster for humanity. However, you six are the ones who can prevent it," he says somewhat nonchalantly. Hearing this has me feeling dumbstruck since I don't know who these guys are.

"Hold on. First off, none of us even know you guys and you're giving us crap like this? And who exactly are you guys? None of you seem to be normal people at all, from your looks, let alone that weird thing Camael did to get us here. Who the hell are you?" I raise my voice asking the voice.

"Well, you are right about Jade, we aren't like regular people at all. In all honesty, we aren't even remotely human," Camael responds to my question leaving me feeling more weirded out.

They all come to stand together and what happens puts anything I thought weird to shame. The room darkens slightly, and the strangers all begin to glow as a silvery light flows over them all. Then, something shoots out of their backs in a blinding flash. As we uncover our eyes, we now understand who or what they are. All three have big, grey, beautiful wings coming out of their backs. The wings fold behind them and we are all in shock. Then I remember the names they told us and it makes all the more sense.

"You guys are...angels," I state somewhat disbelievingly. Camael looks at me and smiles.

"Not just angels Jade. We...are archangels."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Don't own it. You know the drill.

Author's note: Okay. I'm back with an update or this story. So now you all know who and what the three strangers are. Big shout out to BigStuOU for figuring out who they were to begin with. I thought about how exactly to portray them as angels. I thought about making them similar to the angels seen on Supernatural, but that seems to complex. Because they are very powerful but need to possess humans for their to use their more common powers. Then there's the angels from Legion, which are more accurate in terms of generality but then there's the fact that Gabriel just about killed Michael by spearing him. So I'm going for a depiction that lies between the two. You'll see what I mean in this chapter. Enjoy, and review.

Thursday, Feb. 16th

Somewhere Downtown

Los Angeles, California

Hotel-like Room

Jade's POV

Archangels! Freaking Archangels! I can't even believe what I just saw! Now everything I saw in my dream makes sense. This Camael guy came to me in my dream after the...after the lightning from the storm knocked me out. But then, the dream I had showing L.A. getting wrecked by the storm actually happened. But why would this happen? Were these three responsible?

"No Jade, none of us caused the storm four days ago," Ariel says to me, catching me off guard.

"HEY! Don't do that! My thoughts are private!" I yell at her.

"Forgive me. I thought I could set your mind at ease. I should use more tact, especially since...well, I'd rather not re-hash fresh wounds that are still healing," she says genuinely. I can tell she means it. Not jut the look in her eyes but the way she speaks to me reminds me of my mother when my parents broke up. She would always try to assure me that things would be okay. But I didn't believe her and I never felt I should. That's part of why I wasn't so romantic towards Beck. But that's besides that key issue here.

"It's...okay. I shouldn't have snapped at you. But I would like to know what exactly is going on here," I tell her, ignoring the looks of shock coming from Beck and André. Although Beck's shock seems more out of him thinking there was no chance in hell I would do something like that. André's seems more from the fact that I did it at all.

"I suppose I can start. I'm sure all of you are aware of the story of creation, correct?" Camael asks as everyone nods their heads. That story is something most kids would know. I know it so well because my mother always told me stories about God and the angels and how they protected the innocent. After I became a teenager, I didn't put much stock in those stories considering the ways that the world had deteriorated. But seeing these three here now, I can only question just how much of this is true.

"Well, there's more to that story than you're told in church. As you know, Lucifer began to grow proud of himself, in ways that he began to think himself superior to our Father. Our Father created the human race, Lucifer flamed the fans of jealousy and hatred and caused a third of our brothers and sisters to rebel. We won the battle but Lucifer would not let it end there. He and the fallen angels vowed to turn Father's own creation against him. And unfortunately, he's had some success doing so," Sacahel continues for Camael.

"Well, that much we understand but what does this have to do with the storm and where we stand now?" asked Cat, who was looking more serious than I've ever seen her, especially after Tori kissed Daniel at the Kickback over a year ago. Does this have anything to do with Robbie? Ugh. I'm thinking too much.

"Well, Cat, over history, many humans have proven themselves to be selfish and fickle. Lucifer uses that to his advantage so he can have as many humans on his side as possible. But their have been humans who proved to be not only the opposite, but also capable of helping us make the planet a better place," Sachael answers her.

"But that still doesn't explain the storms and these freaky abilities we have," André throws in. What the hell did he mean by freaky abilities?

"The storms were not caused by us. The were caused by the fallen," Camael says as his face, as well as Ariel's and Sachael's, grow deathly serious.

"The fallen had finally decided to make a move against us by causing that storm. A number of the fallen had split themselves into different groups. Those groups working together, could cause major disasters with their powers almost rivaling an archangel. You all saw how dark the clouds had become. And if groups of lesser angels could do that, you don't want to see what groups of archangels could do," Ariel continues on.

"Which brings me to the next question of your claims of being archangels. I thought that there were only seven of you guys? You know, Gabriel, Michael, Raphael?" Beck asks, keeping that same expression on his face, even if is voice sounded as if he is doubtful to this whole thing.

"Just as the angels are numerous, so are we archangels. There's a lot that what you call the bible gets wrong. The stories of the people were true. But there's a lot more to the entire story than just those tales from long ago," Camael explains to us.

"Okay. So what about 'those freaky abilities' André mentioned? What exactly is he talking about?" Tori asks curious. I admit, my own curiosity has been roused, since everyone bar Tori and myself look somewhat hesitant to want to talk about the subject.

"The fallen are looking to annihilate who or whatever is in their way. The first one to go will be humans I'm afraid. That's why when the storms came, we had to not only fight them off but also awaken those with the most potential. That's where you all come in. You six were the only ones in the world, so far, with the potential to fight back. SO we awakened it. Now you all possess psychic powers," Sachael says smiling.

"Psychic powers? As in mind-reading and all that junk?" I ask now highly doubting anything I just heard.

"Actually Jade, there's more than just the average psychic power. There's telekinesis, telepathy, as well as manipulations of certain properties just by using the mind," Robbie suddenly butts in.

"What do you mean manipulation? Like elements," I ask him further.

"Not just elements, but anything that uses energy to perform any function. So along with fire, water, electricity and such, you can also psychically manipulate your own body functions, from your hair, to your bones, even your own skin," Robbie finishes explaining. All of us are now looking at him as if he were the biggest dork on the planet.

"What? I read a wiki about it," he explains.

"Believe it or not, he's actually right. And we have seen most of your group's powers first-hand," Ariel says to me.

"So what can you guys do?" Tori asks looking more excited than confused now.

"Well, I myself seem to have what may be havokinesis. It's pretty much telekinesis, but I can blast objects, form telekinetic shapes, and still move things with my mind," Robbie answers looking enthusiastic.

"I think I can manipulate light. I just have to think positively and I can do stuff like like blasts," Cat says looking like she's thinking. It's still weird for me to see her this serious.

"I can somehow create fire. Not even regular fire, but this red fire with a white orb kind of center in it," André says.

"And I can control ice, even make stuff freeze by blasting it," Beck says looking almost guiltily at me. But somehow I'm not surprised by him having ice powers.

"So that means, aside from myself, Cat possibly has lumokinesis, André has pyrokinesis, and Beck has cryokinesis," Robbie says noting everything he was just told.

"So where does that leave me and Jade? I mean we didn't get any powers," Tori says looking downtrodden .

"Actually you do. I would have already have you to realize your powers but I had to get you somewhere the opposition would not get to you so easily," Camael answers Tori's question.

"Wait, why would they come after us now?" I ask slightly confused.

"Since we awakened your dormant powers, they can't make a major move without alerting any of us. So they had to try to take you out before they could take us on," Sachael explains.

"Oooookay. Now that we got that squared away, what kind of powers do I have?" Tori asks a little too excited. I walk over to her to put my hand on her should to tell her to take it easy. But as my hand makes contact, a sudden jolt shoots through me and my hand goes numb for about five second.

"AHH!" I shout gaining everyone's attention. At least this wasn't like the time I burned my hand at Sikowitz sleepover. Still, what the hell was that?

"Oh my god, Jade! I'm so sorry! I don't know what just happened!" Tori starts shooting off at a million miles per hour.

"Tori! Tori, it's okay. I'm fine. No damage done, see," I assure her by holding up my hand. She calms down enough that I figure out what just happened.

"Anyway, it looks like we've just seen a glimpse of your power," I tell her. Once again, I note the looks of surprise on Beck's and André's faces.

"What was that anyway?" Tori asks.

"From what it looked like, I'd say it was electrokinesis," Robbie answers, causing us to look at him shocked.

"Tori has the ability to manipulate, and from what i could see, generate electricity. In fact, she may very well have gyratic electrokinesis," Robbie explains further while we still look confused about his answer.

"She can not only use lightning, she can make force fields, create blasts and possibly do whatever she wants with gravity," Robbie finishes explaining to us.

"So that only leaves Jade. Listen, I want you to think back to all the times where you experienced major emotional upheaval," Sachael says.

"No, I can't do that," I respond knowing how bad those memories are and out of fear that I'd lose control.

"Then I'll help you," Ariel says approaching and then placing her index and middle fingers on my forehead.

_I find myself standing in the living room of my house but what was before me already caused tears to flow down my eyes. I see my parents arguing about their marriage and I realize this is moment that causes them breakup for good. I look up towards the stairs to see myself at thirteen years old. I remember crying from listening to them over. And then my father walks out the front door and my mother collapses to her knees, crying her eyes out._

_The memory suddenly phases in and out in front of me. Now I see myself walking the halls of Hollywood Arts to Sikowitz class. As I see myself approaching the classroom, I look through the window and I realize the memory. It was the day Tori came to the school and she accidentally bumped into Beck. I could see her so nervous and trying to help Beck by cleaning up her mess. And then as my younger self walks in, I just shuts my eyes and turn away knowing what comes next. But the shouting from my past self does nothing to quell my guilt, sadness, shame, and disgust with myself. A few moments later, I see Tori running out of the classroom with André following, and a minute later Cat and Robbie walk out to find them. Oh god! I hate how I was then. _

_The next memory was just as painful as the last as I see myself, over a year ago, arguing with Beck about his friendship with Alyssa Vaughn, We were arguing about the fact that she was texting him and hanging around him so much, that it seemed like she was coming onto him. He kept denying that anything more was going on. I should've believed him at first because he never cheated on me. But then I remember why I was so adamant to begin with. Girls were always flirting with him and he never did anything to stop them. I see myself dumping him in front of a lot of our classmates, particularly the girls who were attracted to him. The scene then shifts to Beck and I arguing again, this time about me wanting him back. But he rejected me because he said I didn't do one nice thing for him. I remember when I went to Tori for help and we got him the dog, and let it inside his RV only for the dog to attack his dad. Beck did forgive after I confessed what we were trying to do. He kissed me and said he never stopped loving me. Thinking back on it now, we never really resolved anything. Freaking high school. So caught up in the melodrama and well of emotions, you don't even think of anything else._

_The final memory I expected to see coming but still hurt all the same. It was me and Beck at Tori's house on the night that we broke up for good. We were fighting all week and when we saw our friends, things really came to a head. I thought back to him dragging me into the closet to try and talk about us fighting and why he wasn't happy about us. I had mentioned how other girls always flirt with him and he tried to blame our problems on me being jealous. I'm still angry at him for that. This was exactly why we broke up the first time. Then came the moment where all of this started. He said he couldn't be my boyfriend if we were only going to keep fighting. I didn't want to break up to begin with but it seems he did. And the look on his face told me he was serious, which is why I gave him the ultimatum. But when I reached ten, he didn't come out for me. I thought about going back in but when I thought about it, it seemed pointless to go back if he didn't want me afterwards. So I left. But as I look on from inside Tori's house, I could see everyone's faces. It looks like they felt as if it were my fault. And if I were being honest with myself, I thought the same. Everyone was going back to the table to play more cards. But as I look up, I see Tori looking at her front door where I left, her face full of concern. I start to feel tears fall down my face and my body feels like it's overflowing with something I can't explain._

The visions of my memories fade away as I find myself back in the lavish room that I was taken to with the rest of my friends. They all had looks of shock on their faces. But the looks aren't pity but pure shock at something about me. I look down and I see my arms glowing and crackling. I have a power too. But for some reason it feels similar to Tori's power. Do I have electrokinesis too?

"Jade? Are you okay?" I hear André ask me.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," I reply knowing that my façade isn't exactly holding up right now. I quickly turn away to wipe away my eyes so that no one tries to ask me about it. I may not be the same Jade I was since this started. But I still don't like anyone seeing me so weak.

"I'm sorry Jade. But it was the only way I could help you understand your power," Ariel says.

"It's okay. I'm fine, really," I say still not looking at the others.

"Well, at any rate, you all need to grab some things from your homes. With fallen now active, it won't be safe for any of you without us there. So you'll all be staying here in this building so we can help you develop your abilities further," Camael explains.

"We'll leave you all to sort out any business before you come back. Until then, we'll see you all later," Ariel says before they all vanish as by phasing into thin air.

"Jade...if you don't mind, would you like to know more about your power?" I hear Robbie asking me with concern in his voice.

"Sure Robbie," I respond, still not looking at them after seeing and thinking over everything I had done to him, and to Tori.

"Well, it looks like you have the upgraded form of electrokinesis, which is called quintekinesis. It's the ability to generate the energies of the fifth element. It looks like you have possibly the strongest power out of all of us," he finishes explaining.

"Great. Just...great," I say in a monotone voice before I walk out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Don't own. Blah blah.

Author's note: So I have shown another moment of Jade being different than what fans are used to. I honestly find it weird that as a sitcom, the show doesn't delve more into the characters history. Even if it's kids/teen show, I think doing so would make it a greater sitcom than it already is. Also, I'd like to point out that, yes the three strangers are archangels. We've always been told that the number of archangels has been limited to seven. However, I've come to learn that the number of archangels is not limited. We've just been told what to believe about that. This story isn't me forcing my beliefs onto others. I'm just doing this as a form of entertaining others. And the idea seemed to suit the story best as opposed to aliens. Also, if anyone has seen Chronicle, I'm not imitating that film in anyway. On with the story.

Friday, Feb. 17th

West Residence

Los Angeles, California

Jade's POV

I finish packing everything I'm taking with me back to Angel HQ, as I call it. This whole thing still leaves me asking a lot of questions about my role as well as my friends' roles in all of this. It all felt like one big dream in the beginning. But remembering what happened when the storm hit, it's certain that this is all real. To think that angels had been watching this whole time. There's actually someone out there watching out for us all. I kind of wished I took those biblical stories my mother told into account. Still, she never mentioned anything like this. But how could she? Oh well. I grab my bag and head toward the front door when my mom stops me in the kitchen.

"Going back to your friends?" she asks. I'm starting to think I've become predictable if she's able to tell what I'm doing that easily.

"Yeah. I'm going to be gone for-" she stops me before I can finish my sentence.

"It'll be a while I know. I just hope the archangels can teach you everything they can," she says. Hold on. How on Earth would she know about them? I never said anything about meeting them. Even if I did, why would she believe me? People have always said they've had some supernatural experience but half the time, they were just looking for publicity. But what does my mom know?

"Why would you mention archangels?" I ask feigning ignorance.

"It's not just them. I know about everything that's been going on. The world's on the brink of collapse since the fallen are planning to destroying us," my mom explains.

"Mom. How would even know that? I've never even mentioned anything remotely close to angels. What's going on?" I ask her. This whole thing is just too much.

"It's time I told you. When I was carrying you, I had visions. Sometimes, they came to me in my sleep. Other times, they came to me when I was conscious. But they all showed me the same thing. A horrible worldwide storm. People with strange abilities. And finally, there was a young woman who could help save us. I wasn't sure what to think of it at first. But after you were born, and the older you became, the more i could see that the young woman was you. But it didn't come without a price. I wouldn't have known about this until Camael came to your father and I, explained it to us. But over the years, it began to weigh heavily on your father and soon his other issues with our marriage came to the forefront and it drove us apart. We were sworn to secrecy about what was going to happen. If we had let it slip what would happen, then things would be very different and maybe you and your friends wouldn't be the ones to save us," she finishes. This whole time she knew everything. That's why she didn't question the time I spent with Tori since the storm. I can understand why Camael wouldn't want me to know sooner. But this is just a lot of philosophical crap that I can't handle right now. I'll just have to deal.

"What will you do? Won't the fallen came for you too?" I ask my mother.

"They will. However, they need you and you friends out of the way first. If they should manage to bring down the protectors of this planet, then the human race will be wiped out. I would rather things have been much different. But sometimes, we just can't fight fate. So that's why I want you to do your best and fight with everything you have. No matter what, I love you," she says. I walk over to my mom and give her the biggest hug I could ever give. After a few moments, we break apart and I make my way out.

Somewhere Downtown Los Angeles

I make my way over to the building where Camael and the others will be. Even though the building is in a good part of the city, I feel weird walking there by myself. It isn't me walking alone. But I can feel something around here. I'm not sure what it is but it's not good. What the hell is going on? As I get closer, that feeling becomes stronger. I start looking around for any indicator to what is here. I turn back to start walking when someone is standing in front of me. He was dressed like Camael, Sachael, and Ariel but there was something off about him. His skin was much paler than mine. And he had white hair that flowed down a little past his shoulders. And his eyes were the most distinguishing feature like the others. However, instead of shining brilliance, I saw blood red irises. Something was wrong.

"Um...can I help you?" I ask trying not to sound put off, but from his look, it's not working.

"Actually, I was hoping you could," he responds with an insane and feral smile.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" I ask fearing what this guy could be.

"I was a great once. Someone to be feared and respected by many my peers. I was a lot like you. But then you and your kind became so favored over us. And for reasons that made no since. After all, compared to us you were weak. Powerless. That's why when I fell alongside my master, I wanted to help show how weak and indecisive you all can be. Tell me, does it make you angry knowing that someone else is more favored even when you're better than them?" the stranger asked. I look deeper into his eyes and they looked cat-like. This guy obviously knows me and he's baiting me for some reason.

"It won't work. I'm not the person I was. You might as well move on," I respond trying to sound like the old me but it doesn't work. He can see right through my act.

"Oh please. I know you still hold a lot of anger and resentment Jadelyn. After all, ever since Tori Vega came to your school, she's taken any and every chance from you to truly shine. And then your ex-boyfriend, if he can call himself one, has been getting more attached to her with every passing day. He even thinks she'd make a better girlfriend than you ever did," he says as I grow angry. I feel the energy rush through me, giving me an exhilarating feeling.

I'm not sure how I did it. But I rush forward so quickly, the stranger couldn't move away. As I come near him, I throw my fist at his face and he flies back into the wall of a nearby building. I look at my hand and see the smoky blue energy crackling around my hand. The energy gives me strength and speed. But I wish I could do more with it. I'm pulled out of my musing as the stranger pulls himself out of the wall.

"Hmph. Not bad. With more training, you'd be a real powerhouse. But then knowing Camael, he'd try to hold you back. He's too much of a wimp to show you real power," the stranger replies with that feral smile again. He begins to rush me again. I put my hand out knowing he'd take me down quickly. Yet somehow, the energy crackles again but this time, it leaves my hand and shoots at my attacker. It hits on target and he is thrown further into the wall. Before I am dazed by this action, Camael suddenly appears beside me.

"Jadelyn! Thank the Father that I found you! Hurry! Grab my hand!" he shouts. I do as he asks and we are whisked away the same way Camael transported Tori and myself to the headquarters.

Headquarters

Downtown Los Angeles

Apartment

Camael and I arrive back in the room where the rest of the gang is sitting with Ariel and Sachael discussing something.

"So what exactly are you guys? I mean, I know you are archangels but what exactly does that mean for you as angels?" I hear Tori ask to either of them.

"To accurately explain who and what we are would take too long. But I will say this. We are spiritual beings. That's the simplest way I can put it. Our Father created us with the intention of being his messengers and guides to mankind. However, Lucifer's rebellion shifted everything. When we defeated him and our other fallen brothers and sisters, we knew that he would try again to take control from Father. That's why Hell was created; to keep him bound until the time where he would be released and we defeat him for good," Ariel explains.

"However, it seems that one of our fallen brothers has decided to force everything ahead of schedule," Camael throws in, gaining my friends' attention.

"When did you guys get back?" Robbie asks.

"Just now. I'm glad I brought Jade back when I did. She had a run-in with one of our fallen brothers," Camael responds, causing everyone to tense up in worry.

"Who was it Camael?" Sachael asks.

"It was Alastor. He found Jade on her way back here. Seems they're moving faster than anticipated. But it seemed that Jade was able to defend herself quite well," Camael says with an almost fatherly pride. It makes me smile some knowing that he speaks this way about me. My own father didn't even recognize my talents. Just called them stupid. But it doesn't matter, he's not here.

"Not to be rude but I'm wondering just exactly how powerful you guys really are," André asks.

"We're actually much more powerful than you think. While we ourselves are spiritual beings, we were created to be on a higher level of existence. As such, humans cannot kill us. We can be defeated in a fight, depending on how much power Father tasks us with on our missions. But only we can really kill each other," Sachael answers André's question.

"Is that why I was able to defend myself against Alastor?" I ask amazed at what I'm hearing. Always were always said to be second only to God. But then not everything is as we always believed.

"Yes. The fallen still hold significant power like us. However, after their fall, their strength had declined significantly. However, Lucifer still holds great influence over this world," Ariel says.

"So where does this leave all of us?" Cat asks.

"How so?" Sachael responds.

"Well, I've always been told that when you're good and do good things, you go to paradise. But if not, then you're pretty much going down," Cat says almost turning back into the girl she was before this.

"If it was that easy Catarina, then there'd be more people in paradise. It's not about doing good so you can have a clear conscience. It's about making conscience decisions that benefit others before yourself. It's just as we mentioned there's a lot that people get wrong about these principles,"Ariel said.

"I think that's enough questions for now. We need to hurry and prepare you all for any future conflicts with the fallen. We'll show you to the room you'll be using," Camael says ushering us out of the room.

As we walk out, they direct us towards an elevator. As we step in, we notice that we are on the top floor. Camael pushes the buttons in a strange order, when suddenly, a white button suddenly appears above the buttons. As Camael pushes it, we're surrounded in a silvery-white glow. When the light fades, the sight before almost causes me to faint. The setting is almost like that forest clearing that I went to before the storm days ago. Only this place is much more beautiful. There are crystal platforms with beautiful flowers everywhere. The floor itself looks as if it is made of water but we're able to walk on it. There's a huge waterfall that flows out onto the surface floor. The sky looks like how it would when the sun is coming over the horizon or just as it finishes setting. Overall, it's beautiful and breathtaking all at once.

"This is what we call the Crystarium. The room itself is like a pocket dimension that exists outside the time of the material plane. This room will be used as your training ground. You're free to do as much damage as possible as this room will always reform. The first part of your training will be self-defense. We could train you ourselves, but we'd likely beat you to a pulp. Which is why we brought in outside help," Sachael says before stepping aside to reveal the last person any of us thought would be here.

"Hey guys! How's it going?" Trina Vega says to us as if it's normal for her to be here.

"TRINA! WHat are you doing here?" Tori asks her older sister.

"I'm here to help you guys. With the big bads coming our way, these guys thought ti best that I help teach you all how to fight," Trina responds. Honestly, I'm kind of weirded out by the fact that Trina is even here to begin with. She must've known that we'd all be drawn here. I'm reluctant to have Trina teach us since I've never seen her fight before. But then Tori, Robbie, Beck, and André assure me that the girl is capable.

"Trina is a very talented fighter and is capable of being able to hold her won against multiple opponents. She'll start the first lesson," Camael as he and the other archangels float away to one of the crystal platforms.

"Alright! First up Jade! Come on! Show me whatcha got!" Trina says dropping into a fighting stance.

I put myself into my own stance using what Beck showed me a while back. I throw a fist only for Trina to catch it effortlessly and flip me onto my back with a thud. She looks down at me with a slightly bored expression on her face.

"Nice try Jade. But never go for the obvious move," She says offering me a hand. I grudgingly accept it and decide that if I want to survive this whole deal, I should accept Trina's help.

"Alright. I'll show you how to really turn the heat up in a fight. Get ready," Trina commanded me.

Three hours later...

We left the Crystarium and went back to what is our penthouse until the conflict is over. The training session had been horribly draining. Not only is Trina a better fighter than the archangels let on. But she also also has a power just like the rest of us. Robbie called it ergokinesis. He said it was the power to manipulate energy. However, the energy is non-elemental like his. In essence, Trina can shoot energy blasts, enhance her strength and speed, even use her energy to where she can last a lot longer in physical activities. From Robbie's statement, it seems my power, and her's are very closely related. That's irony if I've ever seen it. Trina certainly knew how to use her power well seeing as how she pretty much whooped us all. But we were all still inexperienced. She's had some time to develop her own power as well as her skills.

The time indicated that it was getting late for us and we were all tired. Everyone goes to their individual rooms to turn in. However, Trina stands in the doorway of my room looking pensive about something.

"Can I help you with something?" I ask her.

"There is, but first I wanted to say I'm sorry about the fact I put on Saturday night," she says to me sincerely. It's so unlike the Trina we've all come to know, even Tori. But as tonight has shown, nothing we knows is as it seems.

"No reason to worry about it anymore. If you want Beck, go ahead," I respond, sitting on my bed.

"Hey, he's good-looking but he's not my type. Besides, from what I heard, I don't think I'd much like having him as my boyfriend," she replies, coming to sit on my bed with me.

"Wait, what did you hear?" I ask confused.

"Well, I remember hearing about the first time you guys broke up. He blames your relationship failing on the fact that you didn't act like the girlfriend he wanted, yet he stayed. In all honesty, I definitely understand how you felt about Alyssa Vaughn at the time. And I've seen the way girls always flock to Beck, even knowing you were with him. But he just basked in it. That doesn't sound like the kind of boyfriend a girl would one. But I have to ask: if you had such as problem trusting him, why didn't you leave?" Trina asks. It was a fair question. And I can't fault her for wondering why given how strange my relationship with Beck was.

"If you want the truth, here it is. I had some issues wit my dad. And even though my mother and I can live together comfortably, we don't always get along. When I met Beck, things were great at first. Then he asked me out and we got together. It was, at first, the best thing that could've happened to me since my parents split up. But then the trouble starting when I found some random girl flirting with him. He said she was just curious about some homework assignment, but there were obvious signs that she was flirting with him. I let him play it off as just him not noticing. But then, after Tori came to school, it just got worse. It wasn't Tori who was flirting with him but other girls.

Alyssa Vaughn was just the catalyst to our first break-up. At first, I thought the problem was whether or not I could trust other girls to be around him. After we got back together, there was that whole deal with Hayley and Tara. Hayley actually continued flirting with him, even after Cat warned him that he was seeing me at the time. But Beck didn't say a damn thing! I mean she was so obvious in that she was ready to screw Beck the first chance she would get! But he seemed to play the role of an idiot. I never even gave it much thought until recently. The only time he ever said if he was dating someone when another girl tried to flirt with him was when he was asked directly. But every other time he just let them carry on. But I let him because I liked the fact that he could just put me in my place. He gave me the attention my dad didn't," I explain to Trina. She was listening attentively if her facial expression said anything.

"I know, I know, It's stupid of me to have even stayed just so I could have that kind of relationship when it really didn't do me much good," I say to her.

"No need for me tot ell you what you already know. But you are right. Putting yourself through that would've only continued to do damage. A relationship like that isn't a relationship. It's dominance and submission. I know girls from Northridge who were in relationships similar. A lot of them wound up pregnant because they refused to look at the big picture and played the victim when really, they're just weak-minded. You've never been the kind of girl to be that way except when it came to Beck. And you damn sure don't want to be that way now. Which is why I'm also going to tell you not to get back with Beck. You may have changed in the long run but that doesn't mean he will. You've acknowledged your mistakes. He hasn't. That's his problem not your's. Besides, you're hot stuff! You're likely to find someone better suited for you," Trina says before she exits out of my room.

I can only smile at how wise Trina Vega is. Surprising as it was, her words actually helped. At last now, I have some peace of mind to not let the break-up make me into someone I'm not. After all, I'm Jade West. And no one makes me lower than them.

Underworld

This place marks the home of those who had fallen from grace into eternal condemnation. The screams of so many who had passed with darkness weighing down their souls echoes throughout the blood-red skies with only their jailers listening with twisted delight. In almost the lowest level of this realm, a figure is seen peaking with someone on a throne.

"Master, I have encountered the girl. She is stronger than we expected. However, it seems Camael and his companions have gotten to her first," the first figure says.

"Alastor...you've failed me. But it matters not as I knew this was likely to happen. Besides, we still have other pawns who will do anything for us," the dark figure said to Alastor.

"Now go and bless our followers with power, so that we may prepare the way," the figure bellowed.

"Yes Abbadon."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: don't own.

Author's note: Good lord, it's been a while since I last updated this story. Hand of Fate has gotten so much attention that it took up more time than I originally planned. But I will keep this story up more often. I originally thought that I was going at too slow a pace for this story. But OneHorseShay told me that it's better that I I do it since I'm supposed to be exploring the other sides of characters. Also, for any fans of Beck, I mentioned already that this isn't an attempt to bash him. He's a nice guy but he seems to be condescending to girls who don't exactly seem to fit his ideal of a good or, in Cat's case, sane girl. I bet you guys are also wondering about Trina's involvement in the story. I thought maybe I'd do something to expand her character by throwing in something to add to her behavior on the show. Now, she has a power like the main characters. Also, there will be an OC making an appearance and I promise I won't base him off myself. At least not entirely. HA! And now on with the story.

Feb. 24th, 2012

Headquarters

Downtown Los Angeles

Trina POV

Power. That was the first thing that came to mind when I realized what I was capable of. The year before I was accepted into Hollywood Arts, I was just a normal girl. People didn't really see me. At least not who I am. But then why would they when there was nothing special there. Granted guys seemed to gravitate to me at my old school. But then they were always after me for my body, hoping to get a chance that no one else would. I may be a lot of things but I'm no whore. Sometimes I wonder what makes people become so evil. WIth everything I see, it's no wonder we haven't destroyed ourselves yet. Is it because we feel so lost? Or are we just burdened with the choice between what's easy and what's right? I got closer to my answer when Camael came to me and told me.

_Three years ago..._

_I was coming home from school. It was the same thing as always. The boys would see me and make lewd comments about me, when they thought I didn't hear them. Meanwhile, girls gossiped about me, calling every name they could that matched with whore, slut, or skank. I was so angry all of the time just being in that damn school. Why are kids always the worst? _

_When I opened the door to walk into the living, there he was. He had fair skin and slicked black hair. His face held a great sense of maturity, confidence and leadership. But when I looked into his eyes, I felt fear. Fear pushed me to run but I was compelled to stay. _

"_Fear not. I do not wish you harm. I came here to help you," he said to me. What is he doing here? I didn't have time to figure it out as the door opened again and my parents walked in._

"_Camael? What are you doing here?" My dad had asked the man. The name alone sounded strange at first. _

"_Holly. David. I'm glad you two are here. The time has't come yet. But your oldest needs to learn now before it becomes too late," the stranger I now knew as Camael said to my parents._

"_Wait, why now?" my mom asked._

"_She'll need a great deal of experience since her sister and other children will be involved when the time comes. Everything I teach her she will pass to them. She will still be home but I will only train her when necessary," Camael explained._

_Four days later, I was taken to the building that the group is staying in now. When we went into the crystarium, I was in absolute awe. He explained what he was and why I was needed. It was interesting being in the presence of an archangel. It felt like I was...I'm not sure. But it was wonderful. Over the years, Camael had taught me how to use the power. It started out similarly to how Ariel triggered Jade to use her element in her power. Camael had thrown me back to one point where boys had been particularly crazy just to cop a feel on me. One day I was just walking the hall to the restroom when a boy followed me in. He kept trying to rip my clothes off but I wound up beating him up with all the anger I had. He never bothered to try again. _

_When it was awakened, my training started as simple meditating, where I formed simple energy balls in my hands. After that, I learned how to channel energy from my body, energy around me, and eventually, I learned to attack, defend, and enhance. My power became second nature to me. A year later, I auditioned at Hollywood Arts. Camael told me that if I really wanted to keep myself from being a target too soon and to keep other people off balance, I had to play a part. And no one had any idea who I really was, which was a saving grace until I ran into _him.

_Before I met the gang and my sister had enrolled, I had gone to Freezie Queen on a regular afternoon. After I made my order and ate, I left and headed home. My senses were assaulted with something horrible. I thought I would've passed out on the spot until I saw what caused it. Whatever he did had caused everything to become like static and hazy. When the feeling stopped, I saw a pale man with long white hair. He had blood red eyes that showed that he was out for blood. There were no words, just violence as he lunged at me and caught my throat._

_Remembering my training, I channeled my energy to be able to match his strength and knocked him away. He tried again and it turned into a full-blown fight. He landed a few blows that felt like steel had flown into me. I managed to do almost as much damaged but he was much more resilient to the damage. I managed to get away by trying to limp away when Camael found and teleported us back to the headquarters. Since then, I've had to act even more unlike myself than I thought possible. _

Three years later, everything would fall into place when Tori performed in my place and she met everyone else. It was interesting seeing what everyone was like and what they were capable of since they had no idea. Jade struck me as the most interesting as she did the same thing I had been doing for the last few years. However, her biggest issue had to do with feeling like she couldn't count on anyone. I could see what she meant after a while. Seeing how Beck treated other girls compared to her, it's a wonder she didn't leave any sooner. But then Beck had sort of pushed the issue later.

The day they all walked into the crystarium, I could see how the breakup affected her. She may have power, but it wouldn't help if she couldn't pull herself together. I thought the first butt-kicking would've jarred her and everyone else out of whatever foul mood they were in so they could think about finding a way to out-do me in the long-run. That's what needed to happen. But I could see that it's going to take a while. But these guys are capable.

Crystarium

Los Angeles

Jade POV

Power. Every one of us had it and honestly, the first week, we sucked at being able to use our power. That very first day we found out Trina had a power, we were so gung-ho. We just tapped into our emotions and suddenly we were raw with power. But when we attacked Trina, we showed her just how much had to learn. Robbie tried attacked her from behind only for her to backflip over him while simultaneously grabbing his shoulders and then flipping him back towards one of the crystal islands. Cat tried a light-energy blast only for Trina to raise a barrier to reflect it back at her. Beck and André tried a simultaneous attack of fire and ice but Trina simply evaded both and fired her own blasts. I got it the worst. I tried the same thing I used on Alastor and channeled energy into my body and charged. Trina had knocked me from under my feet and then grabbed my leg, spun me around like a lasso, and then tossed me into the lake at the bottom of the waterfall. Needless to say, I was embarrassed. we all were. Over the next two days, Trina showed us all how to control our powers.

I never would've guessed that it started with simple telekinesis. but then it makes sense because how else could we do what we had done already. Over the next week, we trained in the crystarium and we were able to master our powers within a short amount of time. I eventually got over my trip down memory lane. According to Trina, that's what causes us to delve into the next phase of our powers. Intense emotions push us to that point. But eventually, we can bring it out on our own.

Through all of this, I couldn't believe the person Trina really was. This whole time, she and I had more in common like I did with Tori. She was misunderstood but only because she had bad experiences. Camael taking her under her wing had pushed her to be someone else. Funny how these things come about. I remember the conversation we had after our first training session. She said that I shouldn't get back with Beck because I've already made steps to improvement while he stayed the same. And she was right. Our relationship, despite how much I loved him, wasn't healthy for me. I wonder if love can really make a relationship stand if there's signs that the relationship can't stand in the future. It takes two people for one to work. But without one or both, it's doomed. I yawn from exhaustion feeling the training catch up to me. No need to get too philosophical before bed. I change into sleepwear and close my eyes.

Feb. 29th, 2012

Headquarters

Los Angeles

I wake up to the smell of food making it's way into my room. I walk out and see everyone is up watching the news. You would think that with the biblical storms and the damage caused, that no one would be reporting. But I suppose that's a saving grace for us all. I listen to the reporter talking about something weird.

"In other news, a number of odds attacks has plagued the city. It seems that there have been people who been endowed with and I quote 'paranormal' attributes going on a citywide rampage. No one knows who the attackers are and police are scarcely available as they are having to defend themselves from attackers who are stopping them from helping anyone. We can only hope that something will be done to save us all from what everyone is calling 'Judgement Week'," the reporter said as another story was reported.

"So what does that mean for us? She said that those attacks were from people with paranormal abilities. Does that mean there are others like us?" Cat asked, still with seriousness I can't quite get used to.

"I'm afraid so Cat. I suppose I should explain. The power of psionics is something as old mankind. initially, Adam and Eve had no need for such power. But after they populated the planet and mankind's numbers grew exponentially, a number of humans delved into the power. But they've had help from the Fallen," Ariel explains to Cat.

"So the Fallen push humans into seeking power. Just how bad can that be for us?" André asks.

"Very. In regards to the way they push humans to gain their power. They play on the insecurities that said humans have and they urge them to find power through psionics and then they push the people to use their power that does harm to others. We've seen it happen many times," Sachael says to us.

"So what about us?" I ask.

"You all have been trained to use your powers correctly. That's why your first mission is to find these attackers and stop them. We're not asking you to kill, simply cripple. We've watched your progress and you're all ready," Camael says as we finish breakfast. We get dressed and make our way out of the building.

Mid-town

Los Angeles

We make our way over to the park that we passed by regularly. The strange thing is that the immediate area is barren except the empty buildings. Besides us, there wasn't a soul to be seen anywhere. It was too weird. A scream sounds throughout the area, gaining our attention. However, the voice is one I would know anywhere.

"Sinjin," I say to myself.

I run towards where I think the scream comes from. He screams three more times before I find him in an alleyway. What I see is unbelievable. There's a man with white skin, and short black hair biting into Sinjin's neck. I look at the man's eyes and I see that his irises are dark red like blood. I charge energy into my hand and blast the attacker off Sinjin. Tori moves over to our fallen classmate he seems to still be breathing but needs help. The attacker springs back up and charges at me. He grabs my arms and attempts to bite my neck. I knee him in the groin and throw him away from us only for him to fly into the air. What the hell is he?

"Blood! I must have your BLOOD!" he yells at us. This guy couldn't be serious. Does he think he's a vampire? But I remember what Robbie told us during our week of training about psionics. It's a power that allows us to manipulate any form of energy if we focus hard enough. If this guy was feeding on blood, then that means he has some kind of power over it. Question is what?

"Guys. Watch out for this dude. He's a vampire," I say knowing the others would look at me weirded out.

"Jade how can he be-"I cut Tori off before she has a chance to finish.

"He was feeding on Sinjin's blood. Maybe he was going to use his blood to control Sinjin. Isn't that how it works?" I say to Tori. She thinks about my words as she holds Sinjin up.

"You guys head back. Jade and I will handle this," Trina says as the others begin to leave. The vampire lands before us just staring. It's like he's hoping to savor us as a meal or something I'd really rather not think about.

Trina goes in first, trying to land to hooks with the vamp dodging both. He comes back up trying to land a blow to the side of her head, but she blocks in time, though still stumbling. He kicks low with Trina anticipating this, while he throws punches that the older Vega sister parries. He manages t kick her to the side and advances towards me. I take a fighting stance and jabs while I block. I hit him in his chest and he stumbles back. I fake a high roundhouse kick only to land the kick on his shin, causing him to fall. I punch his face while he falls but he almost instantly jumps back up. He throws two more jabs, the second of which catches my jaw. He then gives me an open-palm thrust sending me flying into the wall. This guy is stronger than we thought. Before he creeps forward more, a flash of smokey blue lightning catches the vampire and singes him completely. I couldn't believe my eyes.

When I look at my savior, it's not who I expect. He's as tall as Beck, with chocolate brown skin, and dark eyes, one of which has a cut over it. He's fairly muscular and he's wearing black pants, a black athletic shirt and a black button-down shirt over it. This man is simply...handsome. But who is he?

"Are you two alright?" he asks us. Strangely, I'm pretty stunned for words. Luckily Trina jars me out of my stupor.

"Yeah, we're okay. Thanks. But who are you? Not that I'm complaining," Trina says.

"My name is Noah. Noah Wilson. And who might you two ladies be?" he asks coolly. His voice is deep but inviting. Oh god, what is wrong with me?

"I'm Trina Vega. And this is Jade West. What were you doing out here?" Trina asks. In my lapse of sanity, I forgot about the lightning he shot at the vampire.

"I could ask you both the same thing. But seeing as you were fighting that guy, it's safe to assume that you're both capable of more than simply fighting. So what can you two do?" he asks coolly. I feel like everything he says doesn't suggest that he's threatening us. And this feeling is somewhat...overwhelming. He's strong but...there's more to him. God help me.

"Ergokinesis for me," Trina answers. He looks at me only for his face to contort into confusion. I must be staring pretty hard because he looks like he's slightly embarrassed. But then his looks turns bashful for a second before turning back to confusion.

"Um...I guess...the same as you," I answer clumsily. I haven't felt this way since...Beck. Oh god, I am such a teenager.

"Interesting. Why didn't you use your power? It would've saved you time," he says to us. Wait...does he understand what he's done? He killed someone. Oh god, he killed someone!

"I can understand if you're wary of what I did. But he was far beyond saving. Someone using an ability like and doing what he did to that other guy makes him pretty far gone. Besides, he was bound to take it further eventually, just like before, he says the last part more to himself but I still hear him.

"Did you know this guy?" I ask wondering how he was involved.

"Somewhat. His name was Bryce Pearson. He used to work for my dad's company. But he was arrested when my dad found out he was stealing from the company. He escaped for a short time before he murdered my parents four years ago. He wasn't seen since up until now. And now I know why," he answers us. there must be something he knows that we don't.

"Listen maybe you can come with us. We have friends with powers too. Maybe they can help," Trina suggests.

"Alright. Lead the way,"

Downtown

Headquarters

The three of us make our way back. The trip was mostly silent since there was probably a lot that Noah didn't want to get into. I could sense a lot of turmoil within him. He seemed angry over the loss of his parents. He felt vengeful about going after that guy Pearson. Now he seems discontent with himself. Is he upset that he couldn't do it sooner? His feelings...they're so jumbled. I better leave it alone.

We arrive back at the penthouse room where the others are sitting with Sinjin with gauze on his neck. Everyone takes in Noah's presence and they're surprised by his appearance. Although, the girl's surprise is a little different.

"Hey. Who's he?" Beck asks trying to play cool.

"Noah Wilson," he answers.

"Oooookay. Why are you here?" Beck asks almost rudely. The look on my face must be saying something because he keeps looking between me and our guest. Noah seems to take the challenge.

"Here to help, provided you can actually be useful in the fight," Noah responds. He must've dealt with someone like Beck before. I don't think I've known anyone else to stand up to him. Beck stands up to approach but André holds him back while giving him a heated look. Did something happen with those two?

"Whatever," Beck says.

"Calm yourself Beckett. You get killed that way," Sachael says appearing with Camael and Ariel in tow. The archangels take in Noah's appearance but seem a little apprehensive.

"Noah. So you've survived. That's good. This group can benefit from your help," Ariel says calmly.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Noah asks.

"I'm Camael. This is Ariel and Sachael. We are..." Camael trails off.

"You guys are archangels. My parents told me stories about you guys. But you're nothing like how you are in the stories," Noah responds heatedly. I can see why he would say it that way. His parents must've meant a lot to him.

"We are terribly sorry for your loss. Actually, we have something to tell you. It's from your parents. Anger and hatred can only lead to more heartache. Don't lose yourself," Ariel says to calm him. Noah thinks it over. His face softens considerably and now he just seems...lost.

"Well, you should all get some rest. Noah you're welcome to stay here," Camael says before teleporting out of the room. As everyone goes to their rooms, I signal Noah to follow me to my room. We enter and I shut the door. He seems bashful again. It's kind of cute. I sit down on the bed but he makes no move to follow.

"It's okay to sit down with me. I won't bite," I joke with him. He smirks at he comment before he approaches slowly and sits with some space between us.

"It's not the biting I'm worried about. Besides, a gentleman doesn't approach a lady unless she gives her permission," Noah responds.

"Well, you have it now," I say to him as he approaches and sits next to me.

"So what's on your mind?" he asks me.

"Actually, I'm curious about what's on yours," I respond. He looks down and as if he's thinking. He looks back up and looks towards the door.

"When my parents were killed, I was scared, angry, and powerless. Thirteen years old and I had no idea what was coming for me. I screamed with every last bit of feeling. When I came back to my senses, I found everything in the room shifted. I thought I was going crazy at first. After that, I was sent into foster care. Every year, a new family took me in, but we wound up moving because of trouble that seemed to come up around me. Stupid kids made me feel helpless. They bullied me until I lashed out with my power and someone got hurt. So when they moved, the family would dump me somewhere else and another adopted me only for the same thing to happen. But then I met the Wilsons. Kindest people I ever met. They saw my problem more than once, but they didn't regard me as some time-bomb or monster. They treated me like their own two kids: one boy and one girl. Twins, as a matter of fact. But good kids. But I realized that I couldn't put them through the same thing that I did with the others. SO I had myself emancipated from them. But I keep in touch with them. They're living happily and peacefully," he explains to me.

Now I understand his feelings. To have lost so much, but never regain for four years, only for the past to still hold him back. And yet, he's still determined to do the right thing if he can. I lay a hand on his shoulder. I was never one to comfort someone because I was always so angry. But seeing him here being so strong when he's been on his own puts everything in perspective. I thought my friends didn't like me very much, and I only gave them more reason to. But they still stuck around. But he's been through more when he shouldn't have had to.

"I'm sorry. It doesn't seem like it's enough. But it's the most I can offer," I tell him.

"It's alright. No point in changing the past. Not that we could. But I believe that a brighter road always lies ahead, if you know where to go," he responds smiling to me. Oh god that smile could make me...dammit I need a cold shower.

"Well, it's getting late. I think I'll crash on one of the couches," he says making a move for the door. Maybe...

"You can stay in here with me. Um...i-if you want," I stammer out. I must sound really stupid right now.

"Um...why would you want me to? Not that I mind but I don't really know you," he says back to me. He's not scared. He's...wow, he's nervous. Is it because of me?

"Well...uh...maybe we could. Get to know each other. What do you say?" I ask. He smiles somewhat sheepishly at the idea before he rejoins me on the bed. We spent a great amount talking and learning about each other. He's not gothic like I am, or was. But does enjoy dark fantasy genres of literature, tv shows, and mythology. He's cooler than I thought. He doesn't judge me like every one else has. He has his opinions but he understands why. Why couldn't Beck be more like this? Dammit, Beck. I guess it can't be helped. First loves never go away.

Speaking of first loves, we actually got into a discussion about past relationships. I told him about Beck and I when we were dating. Needless to say, he didn't seem happy. But there was something else to the look. There was a look of empathy, or sympathy? I couldn't tell the exact difference. But he seemed to understand. DId something happen to him?

"Well, truthfully, despite how it happened, maybe the breakup was better for you. Being in a relationship like that isn't healthy. I should know," he says to me.

"What happened?" I ask him.

"I dated a girl who was...well, she had some issues. Every female friend I met always relied on me as their white knight. Even though they didn't see me romantically, they felt like they could count on me. She said so herself. But then she always talked down on me about my life, the good parts not the bad. She made me feel bad for not having dated enough girls, or having gone out, or not having to work. She kept making me feel bad for not living up to her ideal. But then she goes off with some random guy and gets pregnant. Dude didn't even stick around. Hmph. She just another one that loved the fantasy and not the reality. But I see that's not the case with you," he says smirking slightly at me.

"What do you mean?" I ask in wonder.

"If I had to guess, Oliver was always like that, at least to you. But considering what you've told me, you might not know so much about him. That only makes it harder to understand his actions. But if he treated you the way he did, from the random girls' flirting that he's so receptive to, to him guilt-tripping and treating you like a little girl? Well, you deserved better. But sometimes we don't always see it. But others do, like Tori, André and Trina," he tells me.

"How do you they see it?" I ask in return.

"Well, along with the electrokinesis, I also seem to look into a person's mind. But it's been a difficult thing to really focus on doing. When I met you and Trina, I saw your some memories, and Beck seemed to stick out for you. And when I met the others, I noticed André and Beck seemed sort of mad at each other. I didn't mean to but I saw why. They had a fight at the amphitheater regarding you and even fought with their powers. But André seems equally mad at himself for not treating you like the friend you see him as. Tori seems to have thought on it longer. As for Trina, well, you and her just seem alike in how everyone misjudges you. But overall, you shouldn't have been treated like that. But there is one thing I can tell you, if you can take it," he says.

"What's that?"

"You know for a fact that Tori would never take Beck. But Beck seems to have eyes for her. And now he thinks he's free to have her if he can. So your fears about him liking Tori or someone like her are justified. But don't let your friendship with Tori go if you catch him," he tells me.

I can see why he would say that since the old me would go for her throat and Beck's. But it doesn't matter anymore. Tori has her heart set on André and for some reason...Beck hasn't been on my mind most of the day.

"Thanks. I don't think it'll be a problem," I respond.

"Good. Well, I guess we should get to sleep," he replies.

"Yeah. You can sleep on the bed...with me...if you want," I state lamely.

"Thanks. You get under the covers. I'll lay on top of them," he responds. I nod in acceptance. We both lie in bed and bid each other good night. I fall asleep and dream of the same meadow. This time it's just me and Noah. He turns to me and he smiles.

Mar. 1st, 2012

Atop Headquarters

Camael, Sachael, and Ariel stand on the roof, discussing the events from earlier in the day. They were surprised to have met the young man who showed great control and strength. But what was more interesting was his connection to Jadelyn.

"What do you suppose this means for her?" Ariel asks.

"Well we thought that the seven would be enough. But this Noah shows great promise. But we have to help him soon," Camael responds.

"It's them isn't it?" Sachael asks growing worried.

"Yes. The fallen have likely kept a decent track record on him and we've felt just how strong he is. The boy will resist but that doesn't mean the follow won't try. We'll wait for now. He must cement his bonds with the others. Maybe when this is over, Jadelyn and Noah can have something better," Camael explains. The three archangels vanish in a flash of light to prepare for will come.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious.

Author's note: So yes, we have the new guy. This story is going slower than anticipated but I intend to more than make-up for that later on. I'm trying to get characterization out of the way first. Luckily it will be. Also, I want to assure everyone that Beck is not a bad guy in this story. But he needs to take responsibility in the issues in his relationship with Jade because a relationship takes two people. And while Jade had her share of issues in it, Beck is more responsible for not stepping up and doing anything to fix it, making it look like Jade is to blame. Ladies, how would you feel if your boyfriend let other girls flirt with him but never stopped them, and then not only brushed you off but treated you liked you were a misbehaving child and not supporting you? Also, while this is very late, Tori Fixes Beck and Jade was a very pointless and unconvincing episode for putting bade back together. If anyone remembers Opposite Date, Beck said he'd always love Jade as a friend but as a girlfriend he couldn't stand it. Jade has her rough spots yes, but he was with her for three years not to mention he's been the cause of her concerns in the relationship and he didn't do a thing to fix them. Ladies do you really believe you could be with someone who makes your relationship so one-sided? Enough ranting, on with the story.

Mar. 5th, 2012

Crystarium

Downtown Los Angeles

Noah POV

Power. The word itself had many definitions. Being able to act or produce an effort. Possession of control, authority, or influence. Or in my case, a source or means of supplying energy. The second definition talks about political power that is used maliciously for one's own gain instead of to help others. Everyone keeps wondering why the economy is slow to recover or why the everything people have problems aren't being fixed. It's because those in positions of power are making it so. But what would happen if it were taken away? What happens when someone with real power takes theirs away? After all, Jade and I, as well as her friends, are capable of doing so. The reason we don't is because we weren't chosen for such a thing. Besides, how can the world accept eight super-powered teenagers when it can barely accept the possibility of a greater force, known as the Almighty, watching over them? Hell, the world has used him as an excuse to wage war time and again, now look where we are. When this is over, maybe Jade and I could have a talk about what to do next.

As for the matter at hand, I'm sitting in this beautiful place watching Beck and Jade spar. I have to say, Jade is quite the girl and her power is something marvelous. Strangely, it's reminiscent of mine and Trina's. I wonder if the archangels had anything to do with this? At any rate, I watch as Jade powers her entire body with energy. I could almost swear I've seen this in a few anime shows before. Beck himself shows some creativity with his own power. He's created ice spears, daggers, and even swords while Jade shows off her own. She even goes so far as to create a bird-shape made out of pure energy and send it flying. An attack like that could fry any opponent if they're not careful. However, the match comes to a head as Beck uses too much power shielding himself from Jade's attack. All it takes is one energy beam and he's down. Jade lands in front of him tries to offer a hand but he just shrugs it off and storms away. What the hell is his problem anyway?

We go back to the elevator and cram inside to go back to the material world. Man, that's still weird. As we move, I flash Jade a quick smile and and she responds in kind with a smile of her own. It's a very beautiful smile. Every bit as beautiful as Jade herself. And I'm getting distracted. As we walk back to the room, I notice that Beck seems strangely irritable. I've known him for a week but I can already tell when he gets like that. Part of it comes from the telepathy. That's how I could tell that Bryce Pearson was in my house. That was something I could never truly forget.

_Four Years Ago..._

_I was thirteen and returning home from middle school. My life was as normal as normal gets and I thought nothing could go wrong. When I reached the front door, I heard an barely audible whisper. It sounded angry and maniacal. It kept saying 'I killed them', 'I killed them'. I tried to open the front door as fast as I could. When I did, I ran into the kitchen and found my mother and father lying down, with blood on the floor. THen there was the man looking down at their bodies: Bryce Pearson. Before I could do anything, he shoved past me and was out of the house. I called the police and there was a lot of stuff to deal with, like where I would go._

_It was a few weeks later when my power manifested for the first time. The first family I lived with were a lot like my parents, at first. They were kind and caring. They lived by a lake in a wooded area. When I was sitting outside alone, I felt a strange, and dark, presence approach. It was a man with long white hair and blood-red eyes. _

"_So I finally found you," he said flashing teeth that looked razor sharp. _

_He launched himself at me and we fought, rolling around on the ground. I managed to get him off of me, when I noticed my foster parents run outside seeing the confrontation. The man looked at them and flashed me an evil smile before he launched himself at them, showing feathered wings, even blacker than a raven's if that were possible. THe next second, I snapped. I suddenly found myself in front of him and landed a blow that launched him clear across the property. He flew up to the sky and looked down on us._

"_Don't think this is over boy! We will find you! And we will end you!" he said before flying off._

_When I finally got a look at myself, there were blue arcs of electricity flowing around my body. I looked to my foster parents and they were terrified, not of the winged man but of me. For an entire year, I lived with my power under wraps and my foster family trying to pretend that it wasn't anything. But then my powers manifested from my anger. TIme and again, someone would push me, and while the electricity didn't always manifest, the degree of physical strength and the manipulation of electricity, to s point of generating it myself, became to much. By the end of the first year, my foster parents had the talk with me, and I was back by myself. Then came the next family, with the same amount of time and with the same results. And then two years later, I met the Wilsons. The nicest people I could have ever met. When that same man attacked me like he did three years before, the Wilsons saw everything. But they still accepted me. Still loved me like their own. But I knew eventually, it would likely fall apart. So I had myself emancipated, and amazingly, they understood and they even helped me graduate early so that I could do something about that guy. I've been on my own ever since._

Present day

It's been four years and I finally met other people like me; Jade and her friends. It's funny when I think about the memories I saw from them. You'd think all of them were just common stereotypes from a television show. But instead, there are real people with real life decisions and choices. Some not so great and others better than most. But what I know for sure is that maybe everyone here can make a difference when given the chance. My reverie is interrupted as we arrive back at the bedroom and we all just go about about our business. I notice Jade and Tori talking about the training session. Beck isn't too far away. The looks at Tori makes it painfully obvious that he's clearly interested in her. I remember seeing his memories and Jade wasn't as prevalent as he was in hers.

"So how exactly did you make your energy into the shape of a bird? I mean all I can do is a big blast," Tori says, practically geeking out over the whole thing.

"Well, it takes a lot of practice-" Jade begins till Beck cuts her off.

"It's really no big deal. I could've formed an ice dragon if I wanted to," the pretty-boy says as if he did anything so impressive.

"Sure, because making a giant animal shape made with raw power is so easy. Maybe I could use it on you and see how you like it, seeing as I've had my powers for four years. You wanna take that chance Elvis?" I spit at the Jade's ex. He clearly doesn't like being called out for undermining Jade. Who did this guy think he was anyway?

"And you're so big and bad that you can do anything? Who do you think you are anyway?" he returns.

"I'm the guy that can help keep you alive, if you're not too bullheaded to think you don't need the help," I respond.

"Who needs your help anyway? Nobody wants you here," he says trying to make me feel bad. But he doesn't know how wrong he is.

"Leave him alone Beck. He's here working with us and there are people who do want him here," Tori says, trying to defuse the situation.

"Oh yeah. Jade does. She's got a big yen for the guy, like he does for her. Sure didn't take long for her to look elsewhere for attention," Beck says. Now, I officially want to whoop his ass. Whatever his beef is, it's with the wrong guy. Before I can say anything, Jade cuts in.

"HOW DARE YOU! You think I'm some whore who goes looking anyone just so I won't be alone. Newsflash Beck! I was more alone in our relationship than I have ever felt in my entire life!" Jade screams. I can practically feel her ready to explode at any second.

"Why don't you just chill Jade. This isn't even about you," Beck says in a condescending manner. Jade's mouth hangs open, shocked that he would even make the statement when he dropped her name into the conversation.

"How can you say that Beck?!" Tori asks in disbelief.

"Because she's always trying to get her way. Three years and I had to put up with her being so damn mean and having to make the relationship all about her. I couldn't even talk to another girl without an earful of her jealousy. I never cheated on her but it just wasn't good enough," Beck tries to explain.

"Then you didn't know a damn thing about her or you just didn't care. Because if she was really as mean as you claim, why isn't she like any bully that most people have to deal with? Has she ever just mistreated you without reason? I've known people like that in my life and Jade has been nothing like that. You're so damn stuck on your own ego, that you practically refuse to see anything else. Why can't you own up to anything you did in the relationship?" I ask him. It's always amazing seeing a reaction to certain questions I pose to people. With my telepathy, there's an interesting reaction to someone who is lying. There's a strange sort of vibration around their heads and then I know for sure. Only the minds of the insane or psychotic, even the fallen would be tricky. But seeing Beck react now, the vibration is very prominent as he's not used to being pushed like this. Everyone's so used to treating him like the handsome prince.

"I-I shouldn't have to answer to any of you," Beck stammers out.

"Not even to me? Someone you consider a best friend?" Tori cuts in, as everyone else comes in, hearing the noise.

"Tori it's not...You are my friend. But..." Beck hesitates. Whatever it is about Tori, she clearly has some affect on him that he seems to feel the need to open up. But with us around, it seems more difficult. Funny. He seems like the cool-guy stereotype. But there's a bit of an ego that he refuses to admit to.

"But what Beck?!" Tori raises her voice.

"You want the truth. Fine. Being with Jade, I never felt like I was in control of anything. That's why I was drawn to you Tori. You were being yourself when we first met, and I felt like I could be myself too. I like you. As more than a friend," Beck explains. Everyone is shocked, except Tori, Jade and of course myself. Everyone looks to Jade thinking she's going to go crazy but she doesn't.

"If you're mad Jade, I get it. But we broke up," Beck continues. Jade still looks at him calmly.

"You think I care if you like her that way? The reason she was ever relevant to begin with was because you had your eyes set on her, even while you were dating me. You say you never cheated. But you as well have flirted back, which is just as bad when you're with someone. Especially someone who never hurt you. Yes I didn't always make the best decisions but I can admit that. And I did try talking to you about our problems. But you just turned tables to make me the bad guy. And for all the good it'll do admitting your feelings, Tori doesn't want you. Her heart belongs to someone else," Jade says, walking out of the living quarters. Beck looks to Tori.

"Listen...I-" Tori cuts him off.

"Beck. Forget it. It's not going to happen between us. Jade was right. I don't feel the same way you do for me. And I never will," Tori says as she walks off to her room, with André in tow. The rest of the group simply go about to their own devices. Only Beck and I remain. He looks coldly at me as if it means anything to me. I've worse stares given to me before and Beck is absolutely nonexistent on my list of problems.

"This is-" I cut him off.

"You finish that sentence, you'll find yourself with a loss of motor control," I say coldly. I don't tolerate anyone who think's they're better than someone else.

I leave the room, deciding to head to the crystarium to blow off steam. I walk into the elevator, punch in the code, and am transported to the celestial pocket dimension. What surprises me is Jade sitting on one of the platforms crying her eyes out. I levitate over to her and she takes notice of my presence.

"Hey," she says looking to me.

"Hi. Are you alright?" I ask in return.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. I've never been able to really get out with issues with him until now. Even when I did point out the issues I had with him, he turned t around to me being jealous, because of my insecurities," Jade begins to tell me.

"But jealousy and insecurities are two different things. Insecurities are things about you yourself can't deal with. Jealousy is wanting something you feel you can't or don't have but you likely already do. You had Beck. But he pulled away from you and kept you at a certain distance until he thought you were going too far. Kind of like that lazy parent who doesn't say anything until the child does or says something they don't approve of. You're better off without him," I state plainly. Jade looks at me and smiles before standing up.

"Thanks. You're pretty cool," she says, still smiling.

"I do my best," I respond trying to laugh it off.

"So what do we do?" I ask her.

"How bout a sparring session? I'd like to work on my skills a bit more," Jade responds, smirking at me.

"Sounds good," I say as we charge energy throughout our bodies.

Mar. 7th, 2012

Los Angeles

We walk the streets of the city as a group hoping to find others who need help. Since I helped Jade and Trina take down Pearson, it's like we've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Everything seems strangely quieter than usual. The streets have been empty since those storms but it was too quiet for there to be no one.

"Everyone be on guard. Something's wrong," I warn the group. Then I feel it. A strong presence starts encircling us. It feels familiar. Suddenly, a cloud of black smoke forms and lands in front of us. It takes shape and reveals it to be the same man who fought me a year ago.

"Well well. Young Noah. AND Jadelyn! So you two finally found each other. How quaint. Figures my brothers and sister would see that you two were together. Oh well. It doesn't matter anyway," the man says.

"You're Alastor, right?" Jade yells next to me.

"So they told you about me. Hmph. I have to say when my boss found out about what you all were capable of, he just had to jump at the chance. I mean, he wants to take this planet as much as the big man downstairs, so why not?" Alastor replies.

"Lucifer can shove his plans up his ass," I respond defiantly.

"My boss and I could care less about Lucifer. Besides, he's too busy sitting on his thumbs to actually make his move on this world," Alastor replies.

"Are you saying Lucifer's not the guy to worry about?" Tori asks despite her silence.

"Well, not now. But my boss can be just as petty. And now that we've got you here, it's time you found out what you're up against," Alastor sneers as six fallen angels formed from the same black smoke. I shit into a fighting stance with the others following my lead. Alastor takes one last look at us.

"Take them."


End file.
